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'LARAMIE;" 


OR, 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 


STORY  OF  THE  SIOUX,  AtfAR  OF  1876. 


BY 

CAPTAIN    CHAELES   KING,  TJ.S.A:, 

ATJTHOB  OF    "THE    COLONEL'S    DAUGHTER,"    "MARION'S    FAITH,"    "THE    DESERTER, 
"  FROM    THE    RANKS,"    ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY. 

1889. 


.•  - 


Copyright,  1889,  by  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY. 


"LARAMIE-" 

OR, 

THE   QUEEN   OF   BEDLAM. 

A  STORY  OF  FRONTIER  ARMY  LIFE. 


I.-, 


THE  snow  had  gone  from  all  the  foot-hills  and 
had  long  since  disappeared  in  the  broad  river  bottom. 
It  was  fast  going  from  the  neighboring  mountains, 
too — both  the  streams  told  plainly  of  that,  for  while 
the  Platte  rolled  along  in  great,  swift  surges  under  the 
Engineer  Bridge,  its  smaller  tributary — the  "  Larmie," 
as  the  soldiers  called  it — came  brawling  and  foaming 
down  its  stony  bed  and  sweeping  around  the  back  of 
the  fort  with  a  wild  vehemence  that  made  some  of  the 
denizens  of  the  south  end  decidedly  nervous.  The 
rear  windows  of  the  commanding  officer's  house 
looked  out  upon  a  rushing  torrent,  and  where  the 
surgeon  lived,  at  the  south-west  angle,  the  waters 
lashed  against  the  shabby  old  board  fence  that  had 
been  built  in  by -gone  days,  partly  to  keep  the  children 
and  chickens  from  tumbling  into  the  stream  when  the 
water  was  high,  partly  to  keep  out  marauding  coyotes 

M12536 


Q  THE  qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

when  the  water  was  low.  South  and  west  the  bare, 
gray-brown  slopes  shut  out  the  horizon  and  limited 
the  view.  Eastward  lay  the  broad,  open  valley  be 
yond  the  confluence  of  the  streams, — bare  and  level 
along  the  crumbling  banks,  bare  and  rolling  along 
the  line  of  the  foot-hills.  Northward  the  same  brown 
ridges,  were  .tumbled,  up  like  a  mammoth  wave  a  mile 
or  so -beyond'  ther'rfWr,  while  between  the  northern 
;ljijiit6;  $;  .tlleiyirrisen  'piroper  and  the  banks  of  the 
larger  stream  there  lay  a  level  "flat,"  patched  here 
and  there  with  underbrush,  and  streaked  by  a  winding 
tangle  of  hoof-  and  wheel-tracks  that  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  each  other,  yet  led,  one  and  all,  to  the  distant 
bridge  that  spanned  the  stream,  and  thence  bore 
away  northward  like  the  tines  of  a  pitchfork,  the  one 
to  the  right  going  over  the  hills  a  three  days'  march 
to  the  Indian  agencies  up  along  the  "  Wakpa  Schi- 
cha,"  the  other  leading  more  to  the  west  around  a 
rugged  shoulder  of  bluff,  and  then  stretching  away 
due  north  for  the  head-waters  of  the  Niobrara  and 
the  shelter  of  the  jagged  flanks  of  Rawhide  Butte. 
Only  in  shadowy  clusters  up  and  down  the  stream 
was  there  anywhere  sign  of  timber.  Foliage,  of 
course,  there  was  none.  Cottonwood  and  willow  in 
favored  nooks  along  the  Platte  were  just  beginning 
to  shoot  forth  their  tiny  pea-green  tendrils  in  answer 
to  the  caressing  touch  of  the  May-day  sunshine. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  7 

April  had  been  a  month  of  storm  and  bluster  and 
huge,  wanton  wastes  of  snow,  whirling  and  drifting 
down  from  the  bleak  range  that  veiled  the  valley  of 
the  Laramie  from  the  rays  of  the  westering  sun ;  and 
any  one  who  chose  to  stroll  out  from  the  fort  and 
climb  the  gentle  slope  to  the  bluffs  on  that  side, 
and  to  stand  by  the  rude  scaffolding  whereon  were 
bleaching  the  bones  of  some  Dakota  brave,  could 
easily  see  the  gleaming,  glistening  sides  of  the  grand 
old  peak,  fully  forty  miles  away, — all  one  sheen  of 
frosty  white  that  still  defied  the  melting  rays.  Some 
body  was  up  there  this  very  afternoon, — two  some 
bodies.  Their  figures  were  blacked  in  silhouette 
against  the  sky  close  by  the  Indian  scaffolding;  but 
even  at  the  distance  one  could  see  they  were  not 
Indian  mourners.  That  was  not  a  blanket  which  the 
tall,  slender  shape  had  just  thrown  about  the  slighter 
form.  Mrs.  Miller,  the  major's  wife,  who  happened 
to  be  crossing  the  parade  at  the  moment,  knew  very 
well  that  it  was  an  officer's  cape,  and  that  Randall 
McLean  had  carefully  wrapped  it  about  Nellie  Bayard 
lest  the  keen  wind  from  the  west,  blowing  freely  over 
the  ridges,  should  chill  the  young  girl  after  her  long 
spin  across  the  prairie  and  up  the  heights. 

A  good-hearted  woman  was  Mrs.  Miller,  and  very 
much  did  she  like  the  doctor's  sweet  and  pretty 
daughter,  very  much  better  than  she  fancied  the 


8  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

doctor  himself,  although,  had  she  been  pressed  for 
a  reason  for  her  distrust  of  the  senior  medical  at 
tendant  of  the  garrison,  Mrs.  Miller  might  have 
found  it  hard  to  give  satisfactory  answer.  He  was 
a  widower,  and  "that  made  him  interesting  to  some 
people,"  was  her  analysis  of  the  situation.  She  really 
knew  nothing  more  detrimental  to  his  character,  and 
yet  she  wished  he  had  not  lost  his  wife,  and  her 
wishes  on  this  point  were  not  entirely  because  of 
Elinor's  motherless  state.  It  was  the  first  year  the 
girl  had  spent  in  garrison  since  the  death  of  that 
loving  mother  nearly  a  decade  before.  There  were 
not  lacking  hearts  full  of  sympathy  and  affection  for 
the  weeping  little  maiden  when  that  sore  affliction 
befell  her.  She  had  been  taken  to  her  mother's  old 
home,  reared  and  educated,  and  possibly  over-indulged 
there,  and  sometimes  gladdened  by  visits  from  her 
handsome  and  distinguished  father.  A  marked  man 
in  his  profession  was  Dr.  Bayard,  one  of  the  "swells" 
of  the  medical  corps  of  the  army,  and  rapturously 
had  he  been  loved  by  the  beautiful  and  delicate 
woman  whose  heart  he  had  won,  somewhat  to  the 
sorrow  of  her  people.  They  did  not  like  the  army, 
and  liked  it  still  less  in  the  long  years  of  separation 
that  followed.  Bayard  was  a  man  who  in  his  earlier 
service  had  secured  many  a  pleasant  detail,  and  had 
been  a  society  leader  at  Old  Point  Comfort,  and  New- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  9 

port,  and  Boston  Harbor,  and  now,  in  his  advancing 
years  and  under  an  administration  with  which  he 
had  lost  influence,  he  was  taking  his  turn  at  frontier 
service,  and  heartily  damning  the  fates  that  had 
landed  him  at  Laramie.  His  dead  wife's  father  was 
a  man  whose  dictum  was  law  in  the  political  party 
in  power.  The  doctor  appealed  to  him  to  urge  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  revoke  the  orders  which  con 
signed  him  to  the  isolation  of  a  Wyoming  post,  but 
the  old  gentleman  had  heard  more  than  one  account 
of  his  widowed  son-in-law's  propensities  and  pecca 
dilloes.  It  was  his  conviction  that  Newport  was  not 
the  place  for  handsome  Dr.  Bayard ;  he  rather  de 
lighted  in  the  news  that  the  doctor  promptly  sent 
him ;  but,  though  a  power  in  politics,  he  was  in 
some  things  no  politician,  for,  when  his  son-in-law 
begged  him  to  use  his  influence  in  his  behalf,  the 
old  gentleman  said  no, — and  told  him  why. 

That  gloomy  November  when  Dr.  Bayard  left  for 
the  West  he  took  his  revenge  on  the  old  people,  for 
he  took  his  daughter  with  him. 

It  was  a  cruel,  an  almost  savage  blow,  and  one  that 
was  utterly  unlocked  for.  Fond  as  he  had  been  of 
Elinor's  mother,  and  proud  as  he  was  of  his  pretty 
child,  the  doctor  had  been  content  to  spend  only 
occasional  holidays  with  her.  Every  few  months  he 
came  to  visit  them,  or  had  her  run  down  to  New 


10  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

York  for  a  brief  tour  among  the  shops,  the  theatres, 
and  the  picture-galleries.  She  was  enthusiastically 
devoted  to  him,  and  thought  no  man  on  earth  so 
grand,  so  handsome,  so  accomplished.  She  believed 
herself  the  most  enviable  of  daughters  as  the  child 
of  so  fond  and  indulgent  a  father.  She  gloried  in 
the  pride  which  he  manifested  in  her  success  at  school, 
in  her  budding  beauty  and  graceful  ways.  She  wel 
comed  his  coming  with  infinite  delight,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  drop  any  other  project  when  papa's  brief 
letters  and  telegrams  summoned  her  to  the  city. 
Whatever  their  feeling  toward  the  doctor,  her  grand 
parents  had  never  betrayed  them  to  her  or  sought 
to  undermine — or  rather  undeceive — her  loyal  de 
votion  ;  but  never  had  it  occurred  to  them  as  a 
possibility  that  he  would  assert  his  paternal  claim 
and  bear  away  with  him  the  idol  of  their  hearts, 
the  image  of  the  cherished  daughter  he  had  won 
from  them  so  many  years  before.  Proud  old  judge 
and  senator  as  he  was,  the  grandfather  had  never 
been  so  sore  stricken.  He  could  not  plead,  could 
not  humble  himself  to  unbend  and  ask  for  mercy. 
For  good  and  sufficient  cause  he  had  denied  his  son- 
in-law  the  boon  that  had  been  so  confidently  de 
manded,  and  in  his  chagrin  and  exasperation  Dr. 
Bayard  had  taken  his  revenge.  It  was  too  late  now 
to  prepare  their  little  Elinor  for  characteristics  of 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  11 

which  she  had  never  dreamed,  too  late  to  warn  her 
that  her  superb  father  was  not  the  hero  her  fancy 
painted.  In  utter  consternation,  in  wretchedness  of 
spirit,  the  old  couple  saw  her  borne  away,  tearful 
at  leaving  them,  yet  blissful  at  being  with  papa, 
and  going  once  more  to  the  army,  and  they  could 
only  pray  heaven  to  guard  her  and  to  comfort  them. 
But,  if  Dr.  Bayard  was  incensed  at  being  ordered 
to  so  distant  a  station  as  Laramie,  in  the  first  place, 
his  discontent  was  greatly  augmented  with  the  coming 
of  the  new  year.  It  was  a  crowded  post  when  he 
and  Elinor  arrived  in  the  early  winter,  but  long 
before  the  snows  had  begun  to  disappear  all  the 
cavalry,  and  all  but  two  companies  of  infantry  there 
on  duty,  were  ordered  northward  into  the  Sioux 
country,  and  his  assistant  was  taken  with  the  field 
column,  leaving  to  the  older  man  the  unwelcome 
task  of  caring  for  the  families  of  all  the  absentees 
as  well  as  for  the  few  men  in  the  hospital.  The 
sight  of  Dr.  Bayard,  dignified,  handsome,  elegant 
in  dress  and  manner,  tramping  about  in  the  deep 
snow  around  the  laundresses'  quarters  was  one  that 
afforded  rather  too  much  malicious  delight  to  a  few 
of  the  denizens  of  the  club-room  at  the  store;  but 
the  contemplation  of  his  own  misfortunes  was  be 
ginning  to  bring  the  doctor  himself  to  a  state  of 
mind  still  less  justifiable.  All  his  life  he  had  shunned 


12  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

the  contemplation  of  poverty  and  distress.  He  was 
now  for  the  first  time  seeing  sickness  and  suffering 
in  surroundings  that  had  nothing  of  refinement,  and 
he  shrank,  like  the  sensitive  and  selfish  creature  that 
he  was,  from  such  contamination. 

It  was  hard  news  for  Laramie  when  the  telegraph 
flashed  the  tidings  of  the  savage  fight  up  among 
the  snows  in  the  Powder  River  country,  but  it  was 
comfort  to  Dr.  Bayard.  He  had  begged  for  an  as 
sistant  to  replace  the  young  surgeon  who  had  been 
taken  to  the  front,  and  his  request  was  declined  on 
the  ground  that  the  size  of  the  present  garrison  did 
not  warrant  the  detail  of  an  additional  medical  officer. 
Bayard  ground  his  teeth,  and  swore,  when  the  paper 
came  back  to  him,  "  Respectfully  transmitted  with 
attention  invited  to  the  endorsement  of  the  medical 
director, — which  is  approved."  He  could  have  testi 
fied  under  oath  now,  so  strong  was  his  conviction, 
that  his  father-in-law,  the  surgeon-general  of  the 
army,  and  the  medical  director  of  the  department 
were  all  in  league  to  annoy  and  humiliate  him  to 
the  verge  of  distraction — or  resignation  from  the 
service.  But  the  fight  with  Crazy  Horse's  band  of 
Sioux  brought  unexpected  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
doctor  in  greatly  adding  to  his  responsibilities;  a 
large  number  of  wounded  and  frozen  soldiers  were 
being  brought  in  as  fast  as  ambulance  and  travois 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  13 

could  haul  them,  and  now  he  was  shrewd  enough 
to  know  that  an  assistant  would  have  to  be  sent, 
and  he  did  not  even  ask.  The  young  doctor  who 
came  back  with  the  wounded  was  himself  so  badly 
frozen  when  only  two  clays7  march  away  that  he 
could  be  of  no  further  aid.  Bayard  went  forward 
through  the  snow-drifts  up  the  Platte  to  meet  his 
new  patients,  saw  them  safely  housed  in  hospital, 
and  gave  himself  up  to  the  devoted  efforts  in  their 
behalf.  The  moment  the  assistant  arrived  he  was 
given  instructions  to  take  entire  charge  of  the  soldiers' 
families  and  the  "hangers  on"  of  the  post. 

And  now  the  1st  of  May  was  come;  many  of  the 
wounded  were  well  enough  to  be  hobbling  around 
the  fort  in  search  of  air  and  sunshine;  many  addi 
tional  troops  had  passed  Laramie  on  their  way  up 
to  the  front  and  many  more  were  expected,  but  there 
still  remained  only  the  two  infantry  companies  to 
"  hold  the  fort."  At  the  earliest  intimation  of  trouble 
there  had  come  back  from  the  East,  where  he  had 
been  spending  the  first  long  leave  he  had  enjoyed 
in  some  years  of  service,  a  stalwart  young  lieutenant 
by  the  name  of  McLean.  Border  warfare  had  no 
more  charm  for  him  than  it  had  for  any  other  soldier 
who  remembered  that  it  was  one  in  which  the  Indian 
had  everything  to  win  and  nothing  to  lose.  He  had 
seen  not  a  little  of  it,  with  hard  marching,  scouting, 

2 


14  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

and  suffering,  through  winter's  cold  and  summer's 
heat,  in  more  than  one  campaign  in  the  recent  past. 
It  was  hard  to  give  up  the  leave,  but  harder  to 
have  his  regiment  take  the  field  without  him.  It 
was  with  a  sense  of  having  been  defrauded  in  some 
measure,  therefore,  that  he  found  himself  retained  at 
the  fort,  simply  because  his  own  company  happened 
to  be  kept  back  on  guard.  The  column  had  gone 
when  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  post,  and  his  cha 
grin  was  bitter  when  he  found  that,  so  far  from  fol 
lowing  and  overtaking  them  on  the  trail  to  the  Big 
Horn,  he  was  ordered  to  assume  command  of  his 
company  in  the  place  of  Captain  Bruce,  who,  though 
present  at  the  fort,  was  rapidly  breaking  down  with 
rheumatic  trouble  that  confined  him  to  his  quarters. 
McLean  went  to  the  major  commanding,  he  also 
wrote  to  his  colonel  and  telegraphed  to  the  adju 
tant,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  There  must  be  an 
officer  with  each  company,  even  though  it  be  only 
a  post-guard,  and  it  was  his  ill-luck  to  have  to  be 
the  man. 

And  yet,  three  weeks  after  his  return,  Mr.  McLean 
was  by  no  means  the  disgusted  and  unhappy  subaltern 
he  declared  himself,  and  it  was  a  fact  patent  to  all 
the  garrison  that  Nellie  Bayard  was  the  source  of 
comfort  which  reconciled  him  to  the  situation. 

The  fort  was  crowded  with  officers'  families  at  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  15 

time.  A  large  force  had  been  maintained  here  during 
the  winter,  and  when  the  troops  took  the  field  in 
March  the  ladies  and  children  remained, — a  sacred 
charge  for  Major  Miller  and  his  two  companies  of 
"foot."  Not  only  was  this  the  case,  but  such  was 
the  threatening  and  truculent  bearing  of  all  the  Sioux 
and  Cheyenne  Indians  remaining  at  the  agency  on 
White  River  to  the  north-east,  that  a  few  of  the  offi 
cers  on  duty  at  Fort  Robinson  (the  post  established 
there  to  overlook  and  overawe  (?)  the  savages)  had 
sent  their  families  back  to  Laramie  under  escort,  and 
those  gentle  refugees  were  received  and  housed  and 
welcomed  with  a  hospitality  and  warmth  that  one 
never  sees  outside  the  army.  Every  set  of  officers' 
quarters,  therefore,  was  crowded  to  its  full  capacity, 
and  a  thing  that  never  before  had  happened  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  old  frontier  post  was  now  a  matter 
of  course.  Even  "Bedlam,"  the  ramshackle,  two- 
story  frame  rookery,  once  sacred  to  the  bachelor  ele 
ment,  had  now  two  families  quartered  therein,  and 
one  of  these  comprised  the  wife,  maiden  sister,  and 
three  children  of  Captain  Forrest,  of  the  cavalry, — 
"refugees  from  Robinson."  For  several  days  after 
their  arrival  they  had  been  housed  under  Major 
Miller's  roof, — all  the  other  quarters,  except  Dr.  Bay 
ard's,  being  crowded, — and  Nellie  Bayard  had  begged 
her  father  to  invite  Mrs.,  Miss,  and  the  little  For- 


16  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

rests  to  make  his  house  their  home.  The  doctor 
willingly  accorded  her  permission  to  invite  Miss  For 
rest,  but  drew  the  line  at  her  unattractive  sister-in- 
law  and  the  more  than  unattractive  trio  of  youngsters. 
Before  she  had  known  Miss  Forrest  three  days,  how 
ever,  Nellie  Bayard  felt  less  eagerness  to  ask  her  to 
be  her  guest,  and  Mrs.  Miller,  as  kind  and  generous 
a  soul  as  ever  lived,  had  gone  so  far  as  to  say  to 
her,  "Don't." 

And  yet  it  seemed  so  unkind,  so  utterly  lacking 
in  hospitality  or  courtesy.  After  his  second  call  at 
the  commanding  officer's,  and  a  sprightly  chat  with 
this  beaming,  bright-eyed,  vivacious  young  woman, 
Dr.  Bayard  had  rather  pointedly  inquired, — 

"Nellie,  dear,  I  thought  you  were  to  invite  Miss 
Forrest  to  pay  you  a  visit;  have  you  done  so?" 

•"No,  papa,"  was  the  hesitating  answer.  "I  did 
mean  to — but — don't  you  expect  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gra 
ham  early  next  week?  You  know  you'll  have  to 
ask  them." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,  child,  but  the  house  is  big. 
There  are  two  spare  rooms,  and  even  if  we  had  to 
take  in  more,  you  two  might  share  your  room  awhile, 
might  you  not?" 

We  might,  papa  dear;  but— I'm  afraid  I  don't 
like  her.  That  is,  she  doesn't  attract  me  as  she  did 
at  first.  I  thought  her  charming  then." 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  17 

"  Tut,  tut,  tut !  Why,  what  on  earth's  the  matter 
with  my  little  woman  ?"  asked  the  doctor,  bending 
down  over  her  as  they  were  walking  home.  "It 
isn't  like  you,  Nell,  to  be  censorious.  What's  she 
been  doing? — making  eyes  at  young  McLean?" 

He  might  have  judged  better  than  that,  had  he 
reflected  an  instant.  He  never  yet  had  thought  of 
his  daughter  except  as  a  mere  child,  and  he  did  not 
mean  for  an  instant  to  intimate  that  her  growing 
interest  in  the  young  lieutenant  was  anything  more 
than  a  "  school  -girl"  fancy.  She  was  old  enough, 
however,  to  take  his  thoughtless  speech  au  serieux, 
and  it  hurt  her. 

"Papa!"  was  her  one,  indignant  word  of  remon 
strance.  She  would  not  even  defend  herself  against 
such  accusation. 

"  I  know ! — I  understand — I  didn't  mean  it  ex 
cept  as  the  merest  joke,  my  child,"  he  hurriedly 
interposed.  "  I  thought  you'd  laugh  at  the  idea." 

But  she  would  not  speak  of  it,  and  he  quickly 
sought  to  change  the  subject,  never  even  asking  other 
reason  for  her  apparent  aversion  to  Miss  Forrest.  It 
was  true  that  the  speedy  coming  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Graham  would  make  it  necessary  that  he  should  open 
his  doors  to  an  officer  of  his  own  corps  and  profession. 

For  a  few  days,  however,  that  thoughtless  speech 
seemed  to  rankle  in  his  gentle  daughter's  soul. 
b  2* 


lg  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Never  before  had  she  known  hesitancy  or  embar 
rassment  in  her  daily,  hourly  chat  with  that  fondly 
loved  father.  Now  there  was  a  topic  that  she  could 
not  approach.  Hitherto  she  used  to  tell  him  all 
about  her  walks  and  talks  with  Mr.  McLean.  That 
young  gentleman,  indeed,  had  accompanied  them  the 
evening  they  went  to  the  major's  to  call  upon  the 
latest  arrival  among  the  refugees,  but  now  she  shrank 
from  mentioning  either  Miss  Forrest  or  him.  For 
several  days  after  that  talk  it  seemed  as  though  she 
avoided  not  only  the  subjects,  but  the  two  persons 
themselves.  At  least  both  of  them  would  have  sworn 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  statement,  and  McLean  was 
at  his  wit's  end  to  account  for  it. 

Meantime,  there  being  nowhere  else  to  go,  the  For- 
rests  had  moved  into  "Bedlam"  in  the  same  hall 
way  with  the  family  of  Lieutenant  Post,  also  refugees 
from  Robinson ;  but  while  the  Posts  occupied  rooms 
on  the  lower  floor,  the  Forrests  took  the  four  cham 
bers  overhead.  Two  young  cavalry  officers  were  the 
occupants  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  campaign,  but 
all  their  furniture  and  "  traps"  were  summarily  moved 
over  to  the  quartermaster's  storehouse  by  order  of 
the  commanding  officer, — and  one  trip  of  one  wagon 
did  the  entire  job, — for  the  emergency  was  one  that 
called  for  action,  and  Major  Miller  was  a  man  to 
meet  it.  The  Forrests  and  the  Posts,  therefore,  were 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  19 

now  sole  occupants  of  the  south  end  of  "Bedlam," 
and  Lieutenant  McLean's  two  rooms  were  on  the 
ground-floor  of  the  north  end.  The  hall-ways  ran 
entirely  through  from  east  to  west,  giving  on  the 
west  side  into  court-yards  separated  from  each  other 
by  a  high  board  fence  and  completely  enclosed  by 
one  of  similar  make.  On  the  east  side,  fronting  the 
roadway,  were  broad  verandas  on  both  first  and  second 
floors,  and  these  were  common  property  of  the  occu 
pants  of  both  halls.  By  the  rear  or  west  door  they 
could  not  pass  from  one  hall  to  the  other,  on  account 
of  the  intervening  fence.  By  the  east  door  the  ve 
randa  on  either  story  formed  a  convenient  thorough 
fare.  McLean  occupied  the  two  rooms  on  the  north 
side  of  this  hall,  and  a  brother  infantryman,  also 
a  bachelor,  occupied  the  two  above  him.  The  op 
posite  rooms  on  both  floors  were  the  garrison  homes 
of  married  officers  now  in  the  fields  with  their  com 
mands,  and  their  doors  were  kept  locked  by  the 
quartermaster.  The  Forrests  and  Posts,  with  the 
Bedouin-like  ease  of  long  experience  on  the  frontier, 
had  established  a  dining-room  in  common  on  the 
ground-floor  of  the  south  end,  and  the  temporary 
kitchen  was  knocked  up  in  the  back  yard.  The 
south  division,  therefore,  contained  a  lively  colony 
of  women  and  children  ;  the  north  halls,  only  empty 
rooms  and  two  lone  bachelors. 


20  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

This  very  May-day  afternoon  on  which  our  story 
opens,  as  Lieutenant  McLean  and  Miss  Bayard  started 
forth  on  their  stroll,  Miss  Forrest,  with  a  shawl 
hugged  woman-fashion  around  her  shapely  form,  was 
taking  a  constitutional  up  and  down  the  upper  gallery. 
She  came  to  the  railing  and  bent  down,  beaming, 
smiling,  and  kissing  her  hand  to  them, — and  a  win 
some  smile  she  had, — then,  as  they  passed  out  along 
the  walk  by  the  old  ordnance  storehouse,  she  stood 
for  a  time  looking  after  them. 

That  night,  just  after  dusk,  when  Mr,  McLean 
came  bounding  up  the  front  steps,  intent  on  getting 
an  album  from  his  quarters,  and  then  returning  to 
Mrs.'  Miller's,  where  he  was  spending  the  evening, 
he  was  surprised  to  find  the  lamp  extinguished.  All 
was  darkness  as  he  opened  the  front  door.  So,  too, 
on  the  second  floor  there  was  no  light  in  the  hall, 
and  yet  he  could  have  sworn  that  both  lamps  were 
burning  when  he  went  out  at  eight  o'clock,  half  an 
hour  before.  In  his  own  room,  the  front  one,  how 
ever,  the  very  opposite  was  the  case.  He  had  turned 
the  lamp  low  the  last  thing  before  starting,  and 
closed  the  front  of  his  standing  desk,  turning  the 
key  in  the  lock.  He  always  did  these  things  when 
leaving  his  quarters  at  night.  Now  the  hanging 
lamp  was  throwing  a  steady  light  all  over  the  simple, 
soldier  room,  and  the  desk  was  wide  open. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  21 

The  rear  room,  his  bedchamber,  was  dark  as  usual, 
and  his  first  thought  was  for  his  papers.  These  were 
in  their  pigeon-holes,  undisturbed.  Two  drawers  had 
been  pulled  open ;  one  was  now  half  closed,  while 
the  other  remained  with  almost  its  full  length,  lying, 
tipped  out,  upon  the  shelving  desk.  It  was  filled 
with  Lynchburg  tobacco,  a  bright-colored,  fragrant 
brand  much  affected  by  pipe-smokers  at  that  time, 
and  an  idea  occurred  to  him.  He  stepped  out  into 
the  hall  and  shouted  up  the  stairs, — 

"  Hat !— O-o-o,  Hatton  !     You  been  here  ?" 

No  answer. 

Mr.  McLean  shook  his  head  in  perplexity.  He 
and  his  comrade,  Lieutenant  Hatton,  were  intimates 
who  smoked  many  a  pipe  together  out  of  that  same 
drawer.  He  had  many  a  time  bidden  the  latter  to 
come  in  and  help  himself  whenever  he  wanted  to. 
Bachelor  doors  are  always  open  in  the  army,  and 
the  desk  key  was  generally  in  the  lock.  Still  it 
was  not  like  Hatton  to  leave  things  in  disorder  be 
hind  him,  even  if  he  were  to  take  McLean  at  his 
word.  No !  It  wasn't  Hatton,  unless  something  very 
unforeseen  had  suddenly  called  him  away.  Stepping 
quickly  back  into  the  room  he  felt  a  draught  of 
cool  air,  and  saw  that  the  portiere  that  hung  be 
tween  the  two  rooms  was  bulging  slightly  toward 
him.  Instantly  he  stepped  into  his  bedroom,  where 


22  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

all  was  (lark,  struck  a  match,  and  saw,  the  moment 
its  flash  illumined  surrounding  objects,  that  the  one 
door  he  generally  kept  locked  was  now  ajar.  It 
led  into  the  hall,  and  thither  strode  McLean.  Up 
to  this  instant  not  a  sound  had  he  heard.  Now, 
fairly  flying  up  the  old,  creaky  stairs,  light  as 
kittens7,  quick  as  terriers',  yet  stealthy,  almost  noise 
less,  he  distinctly  heard  slippered  footfalls.  They 
whirled  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  flashed  through 
the  hall-way  overhead  and  out  on  the  front  veranda, 
and  he,  instead  of  pursuing,  stood  stone  still,  rooted 
to  the  floor,  his  heart  beating  hard,  his  hands  clinch 
ing  in  amaze.  What  stunned  him  was  the  fact  that 
with  the  footfalls  went  the  swish  of  dainty  silken 
skirts. 


II. 


IT  was  full  ten  minutes  before  Mr.  McLean  re 
issued  from  his  quarters  on  his  return  to  the  major's 
house.  In  the  mean  time  he  had  searched  his  desk 
and  summed  up  his  losses.  They  amounted  to  mere 
trifles — a  few  postage-stamps  and  perhaps  five  dollars 
in  currency — which  happened  to  be  lying  in  the  drawer 
above  his  tobacco  receptacle.  "Lucky  I  hadn't  got 
my  April  pay  yet!"  thought  he.  There  were  some 
handsome  sleeve-buttons  and  a  scarf-pin  or  two  in 
another  drawer,  but  these  had  not  been  touched, — the 
pilferer  had  been  interrupted  too  soon.  Some  letters 
and  notes  that  were  lying  in  the  lower  pigeon-holes 
had  evidently  been  objects  of  scrutiny,  but  were  still 
there — so  far  as  he  had  time  to  count.  He  had  left 
a  jolly  little  gathering  at  the  Millers',  and  he  was 
eager  to  return;  he  had  left  them  only  at  Mrs. 
Miller's  urgent  request  that  he  should  bring  over 
his  "scrap-book,"  in  which  he  had  a  miscellaneous 
assortment  of  photographs  of  army  friends  and  army 
scenes,  of  autographs,  doggerel  rhymes,  and  news 
paper  clippings,  such  as  "  Spelling  Tests"  and  "  Feats 
in  Pronunciation,"  and  a  quantity  of  others  containing 
varied  and  useful  information.  It  was  a  great  stand- 

23 


24  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

by  and  resource  of  his,  and  had  helped  to  while  away 
many  an  evening  on  the  frontier.  Now,  Mrs.  Miller 
had  been  telling  Nellie  Bayard  about  it,  and  was 
eager  that  she  should  see  it.  The  major,  too,  and 
several  ladies  present,  all  united  in  the  request  and 
enjoined  upon  him  to  hurry  back.  As  "Bedlam" 
lay  but  a  hundred  yards  away,  there  was  no  reason 
why  he  should  not  have  returned  in  five  minutes, 
but  it  was  fifteen  when  he  reappeared,  and  was,  as 
became  the  only  young  man  in  the  room,  the  imme 
diate  centre  of  combined  question  and  invective. 

"  What  could  have  kept  you  so  long  ?"  "  Where 
on  earth  have  you  been?"  "Were  it  anybody  but 
Mr.  McLean,  I  would  say  he  had  gone  down  to 
the  club-room  for  a  drink,"  etc.  Nellie  Bayard 
alone  was  silent.  The  question  that  occurred  to  her 
was  finally  asked  by  Mrs.  Miller, — 

"  Why,  Mr.  McLean,  how  white  you  look  !  Have 
you  seen  a  ghost?" 

"  No,"  he  answered,  laughing  nervously.  "  I've 
seen  nothing.  It  is  dark  as  Erebus  outside,  and  I 
ran  into  something  I  couldn't  see  at  all, — something 
too  tangible  for  a  ghost." 

"Who  was  it  or  what  was  it?" 

"  That's  what  I'm  dying  to  know.  I  was  out  in 
the  very  middle  of  the  parade,  and  this  something 
was  scurrying  over  toward  Gordon's  quarters  as  I 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  25 

was  coming  here.  We  ran  slap  into  each  other.  I 
sang  out,  '  Halloo !  Beg  pardon/  and  began  hunt 
ing  for  the  book  that  was  knocked  out  from  under 
my  arm,  and  this  figure  just  whizzed  right  on, — never 
answered  at  all." 

"  Odd  !"  said  the  major.  "  Some  one  of  the  men, 
do  you  think?  been  over  paying  a  visit  to  a  sweet 
heart  in  some  kitchen  of  the  opposite  quarters?" 

"  Well,  no,"  answered  McLean,  coloring  and  hesi 
tating.  "It  might  have  been  some  sweetheart  going 
over  to  visit  the  east  side  and  taking  a  short  cut 
across  the  parade.  It  wasn't  a  man." 

"  Oh  !  That's  it,  of  course,"  chimed  in  Mrs.  Bren- 
ham  at  once.  "The  Johnsons  have  a  girl — Winnie 
they  call  her — who  is  perpetually  gadding  about, 
and  I  warrant  it  was  she.  Come!  Let  us  see  the 
scrap-book." 

And  so  the  party  returned  to  the  business  of  the 
evening  and  were  soon  absorbed  in  the  pages  of 
McLean's  collection.  He  had  many  a  question  to 
answer,  and  was  kept  from  the  seat  he  longed  to 
take,  by  Nellie  Bayard's  side.  Where  three  or  four 
women  are  gathered  together  over  an  album  of  pho 
tographs  or  a  scrap-book  of  which  he  is  the  owner, 
no  man  need  hope  to  escape  for  so  much  as  an  in 
stant.  Yet  she  was  watching  him  and  wondering 
at  what  she  saw,— the  effort  it  cost  him  to  pay  atten- 
B  3 


26  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

tion  to  their   simplest  question — the   evident  distrac 
tion  that  had  seized  upon  him. 

By  and  by  tattoo  sounded.  The  major  went  out 
with  McLean  to  receive  the  reports,  and  when  they 
returned  Mr.  Hatton  came  too. 

"  Where  have  you  been,  Mr.  Hatton  ?"  asked  Mrs. 
Miller.  "  We've  been  looking  for  you  all  the  even 
ing,  and  wouldn't  have  a  bite  or  a  glass  of  wine 
until  you  came  in." 

"Over  at  the  Gordons'.  They  are  having  a  little 
gathering  too,  mostly  of  the  refugees, — regular  hen 
convention.  I  was  the  only  man  there  for  over  au 
hour." 

"Who  all  were  there?"  inquired  the  hostess — her 
Southern  birth  and  her  woman's  interest  in  the 
goings-on  of  the  garrison  manifesting  themselves  at 
one  and  the  same  time. 

"  Oh,  about  a  dozen,  all  told,"  answered  Mr.  Hat- 
ton.  "Mrs.  Bruce  and  Jeannie,  Mrs.  Forrest,  Mrs. 
Post,  the  Gordon  girls,  Mrs.  Wells,  and  finally  Miss 
Forrest.  The  little  parlor  was  packed  like  a  ration- 
can  by  nine  o'clock,  and  I  was  glad  to  slip  away 
at  first  call." 

"A  likely  statement  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Jeannie  Bruce  was  there." 

"Fact,  though!"  answered  Hatton,  with  a  know 
ing  look  on  his  handsome  face.  He  did  not  want 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  27 

to  say  it  was  because  Jeannie  Bruce  went  home  at 
"first  call"  and  that  he  escorted  her. 

McLean  would  be  sure  to  understand  that  point, 
however,  thought  Mr.  Hatton  to  himself,  and  to 
obviate  the  possibility  of  his  mischievously  suggest 
ing  that  solution  of  the  matter  it  might  be  well  to 
tip  him  a  wink.  Looking  around  in  search  of  his 
chum,  Mr.  Hatton  was  surprised  at  the  odd  and 
wretched  expression  on  McLean's  face.  The  tall 
young  subaltern  had  seated  himself  at  last  by  Nellie 
Bayard's  side,  but  instead  of  devoting  himself  to  her, 
as  was  to  have  been  expected,  he  was  staring  with 
white  face  at  Hatton  and  drinking  in  every  word. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  old  man?  You  look 
all  struck  of  a  heap !"  exclaimed  Hatton,  in  genuine 
concern. 

"Mr.  McLean  encountered  a  spook  on  his  way 
over  here,"  laughed  the  major,  seeing  that  McLean, 
in  embarrassment,  knew  not  how  to  reply.  "  He  ran 
afoul  of  a  flying  Dutchwoman  out  on  the  parade 
in  the  dark,  and  was  mystified  because  she  would  not 
stop  and  chat  with  him." 

"  What  nonsense,  major !"  sharply  interposed  his 
better  half.  "  You  know  we  settled  it  long  ago 
that  that  must  have  been  the  Johnsons'  Winnie  on 
one  of  her  gad-abouts.  Why  do  you  add  to  the 
mischief?" 


28  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  Hm !"  responded  her  lord  in  a  broad  grin. 
"  Coming  from  a  woman,  that  is  a  stinger.  Can't  a 
fellow  have  a  little  fun  at  McLean's  expense  without 
being  accused  of  scattering  scandal?" 

"  You  are  only  too  ready  to  accuse  one  of  us  of 
starting  malicious  stories/'  replied  his  wife,  with 
honest  indignation.  "It  might  be  as  well  for  you 
to  consider  the  possible  effect  of  your  own  words." 

"What  possible  effect— ill  effect,  that  is— could 
my  remark  have  had  even  if  repeated?"  demanded 
the  major  in  amusement. 

"Well,  never  you  mind  now;  I'm  glad  we  all 
understand  one  another  here  at  any  rate,"  answered 
Mrs.  Miller,  earnestly.  "Now  let  us  have  peace 
and  a  truce  to  the  spook  story.  Mrs.  Taylor,  now 
won't  you  sing?" 

"  Eeally,  Mrs.  Miller,  I  ought  not  to  stay  another 
moment.  I  left  the  nurse  in  charge  of  my  babies, 
and  I  know  perfectly  well  that  by  this  time  she  is 
out  at  the  back  gate  flirting  with  Sergeant  Murray. 
Indeed,  Mr.  McLean,  I  do  wish  you  would  confine 
that  altogether-too-utterly-attractive  young  man  to  the 
limits  of  the  barracks.  He's  at  our  gate  morn,  noon, 
and  night,  and  whenever  he's  there  my  Maggie  is 
there  too,  and  the  children  might  scream  themselves 
hoarse  and  she  never  hear.  Why,  I'm  a  perfect 
slave!  I  can't  go  anywhere.  It's  just  do  for  those 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  29 

precious  babies  from  dawn  till  midnight.  I  might 
as  well  have  no  nurse  at  all.  Oh,  no,  indeed,  Mrs. 
Miller.  I  must  go  this  minute.  Indeed  I  must. 
But,  Mr.  Hatton,  how  did  it  happen  that  Miss 
Forrest  only  came  in  late  ?" 

"More  than  I  know,  Mrs.  Taylor.  She  said  she 
was  unable  to  come  earlier  on  account  of  letters  or 
something.  I  didn't  pay  much  attention.  You  see 
there  were  six  women  around  me  already.  I've 
never  known  the  bliss  of  being  an  undoubted  belle 
until  this  spring." 

"  Then  I  suppose,  too,  she  stopped  to  dress.  You 
know  Fanny  Forrest  has  such  beautiful  dresses,  Mrs. 
Miller,  and  she's  hardly  had  a  chance  to  show  one 
of  them  since  she  got  here.  What  did  she  wear  this 
evening,  Mr.  Hatton  ?" 

"'Pon  my  soul,  I  don't  know.  It  was  a  jlress, 
of  course,  blue  or  green — or  something." 

"  Yes — something,  undoubtedly ;  but  what  was  it 
like?  Did  it ?" 

"The  idea  of  asking  me  to  describe  a  woman's 
dress !  Why,  I  don't  know  a  poplin  from  a  polo 
naise,  though  I  suppose  there's  a  distinction  of  some 
kind.  All  I  know  is  that  this  one  shimmered  and 
had  things  all  over  it  like  No.  12  shot  or  Sioux 
moccasin  beads,  and  it  swished  and  rustled  as  she 
walked  through  the  hall  and  up  the  stairs." 

3* 


30  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Oh,  I  know, — that  long  silk  princesse — electric 
blue — that  came  from  New  York  last  October  and 
Beg  pardon.  What?" 

"Not  you,  Mrs.  Taylor.  Go  on!"  said  Mrs. 
Miller,  pleasantly.  "Mr.  Hatton's  servant  has  just 
called  for  him  at  the  door.  .Wants  to  see  him  a 
moment."  And  Hatton  left  the  parlor  with  the 
major  at  his  heels. 

An  hour  later,  after  seeing  Nellie  Bayard  home, 
and  striving  in  vain  to  be  like  his  actual  self,  Mr. 
McLean  hurried  to  his  quarters.  Just  as  he  ex 
pected,  Hatton  was  standing  in  front  of  the  open 
fireplace  puffing  furiously  at  a  chunky  little  brier- 
wood  pipe.  He  looked  up  from  under  his  heavy 
eyebrows  as  McLean  came  in,  but  said  nothing.  The 
occupant  of  the  room  filled  and  lighted  his  own 
particular  "cutty,"  and  threw  himself  into  an  easy 
chair,  first  divesting  himself  of  the  handsome  uni 
form  "  blouse"  he  had  worn  during  the  evening, 
and  getting  into  an  easy  old  shooting-jacket.  Then 
through  a  cloud  of  fragrant  smoke  the  two  men 
looked  silently  at  each  other.  It  was  Hatton  who 
spoke  first: 

"Well,  Mac." 

"  What's  up,  Hatton  ?" 

"  Missed  anything  to-night  ?" 

"Nothing  to  speak  of,"  answered  McLean,  color- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  31 

ing.  He  had  the  hatred  of  his  race  for  the  faintest 
equivocation. 

"  Well,  I  have,  and  I  thought  you  might  have 
been  visited  likewise.  My  bureau  and  dressing-case 
have  been  ransacked  and  I'm  out  a  good  two  hun 
dred  dollars7  worth. 

"  The  devil  you  say  !" 

"  Have  you  lost  nothing  ?" 

"  Five  dollars  or  so, — as  I  said,  nothing  I  wanted 
to  mention." 

"Why?" 

"  Well— because." 

"  A  woman's  reason,  Mac." 

"How  do  you  know  a  woman's  the  reason?" 
asked  McLean,  almost  fiercely,  as  he  started  from 
the  chair.  He  had  only  imperfectly  heard  his 
friend's  muttered  words. 

"I  don't!— and  tha-t  isn't  what  I  said,"  replied 
Hatton,  coolly.  "  But  see  here, — now  we've  got  down 
to  it,"  and  he  stopped  to  emit  two  or  three  volumi 
nous  puffs  of  smoke  from  under  his  thick  mous 
tache.  "  It  would  appear  that  the  thief  went  through 
the  next-door  premises  despite  the  presence  of  nurses 
and  servants  and  children, — and  then  dropped  some 
of  his  plunder  here.  Eh?"  and  he  held  forth  a 
dainty  handkerchief. 

McLean  took  it,  his  hands  trembling,  and  a  creep- 


32  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

ing,  chilling  sensation  running  through  his  fingers. 
It  was  of  finest  fabric,  sheer  and  soft  and  very 
simply  embroidered.  It  was  without,  rather  than 
with,  surprise  he  found  the  letters  "  F.  F."  in  one 
corner.  He  raised  it,  and,  not  knowing  what  to 
say  for  the  moment,  sat  there  inhaling  the  delicate 
fragrance  that  hung  about  the  white  folds. 

"Where'd  you  find  it?"  he  finally  asked. 

"Just  at  the  foot  of  your  bureau,  Mac.  It  was 
lying  there  when  I  came  in,  half  an  hour  ago." 

"Then  it's  mine  to  dispose  of  at  least,"  said  Mc 
Lean,  as  he  rose  promptly  from  his  chair,  stepped 
quickly  to  the  fireplace,  and  tossed  the  dainty  toy 
among  the  flames.  The  next  instant  the  last  vestige 
of  it  was  swept  from  sight,  and  the  two  men  stood 
looking  quietly  into  each  other's  eyes. 


III. 

THE  compact  little  post  of  Fort  Laramie  looked 
hardly  big  enough  to  contain  its  population  two  days 
afterward  when,  under  the  influence  of  a  warm  sun 
shine  and  the  sweet  music  of  the  band,  all  the  women 
and  children  seemed  to  have  gathered  around  the  pa 
rade.  Guard-mounting  was  just  over,  and  the  adju 
tant  had  ordered  the  musicians  to  stop  and  play  a  few 
airs  in  honor  of  its  being  the  first  morning  on  which 
it  was  warm  enough  for  the  men  to  appear  -without 
overcoats  and  the  women  without  their  furs.  The 
little  quadrangle,  surrounded  as  it  was  by  quarters 
and  houses  of  every  conceivable  pattern  except  that 
which  was  modern  and  ornamental,  was  all  alive  with 
romping  children  and  with  sauntering  groups  of  ladies 
chatting  with  the  few  cavaliers  who  happened  to  be 
available.  A  small  battalion  of  infantry  had  marched 
up  from  the  nearest  railway-station  at  Cheyenne,  a 
good  hundred  miles  away,  and  pitched  its  tents  on  the 
flat  to  the  north  of  the  post,  and  this  brought  a  few 
visiting  officers  into  the  enclosure;  otherwise,  except 
old  Bruce,  there  would  have  been  no  man  to  talk  to, 
as  Hatton  and  McLean  were  "marching  on"  and 
"marching  off"  guard  respectively,  and  the  surgeon, 

c  33 


34  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

adjutant,  and  quartermaster  were  all  engaged  in  the 
old  head-quarters  office  with  Major  Miller. 

While  many  of  the  ladies  were  seated  in  the  sun 
shine  on  the  piazzas,  and  even  "  Bedlam"  was  so  orna 
mented,  there  were  several  who  were  strolling  up  and 
down  the  board  and  gravel  walks,  and  of  these  Fanny 
Forrest  was  certainly  the  most  striking  in  appearance. 
She  was  tall,  stately  in  carriage,  and  beautifully  formed. 
Her  head  was  carried  proudly  and  her  features  were 
regular  and  fine.    "  But  for  that  hardness  of  expression 
she  might  be  a  tearing  beauty,"  was  the  comment  of 
more  than  one  woman  who  knew  and  envied  her ;  but 
that  expression  certainly  existed  and  to  her  constant 
detriment.    All  manner  of  conjectures  had  been  started 
to  account  for  her  somewhat  defiant  air  and  that  hard, 
set  look  that  so  rarely  left  her  face  except  when  she 
smiled  and  strove  to  please.    No  one  really  knew  much 
about  her.     Captain  Forrest,  her  brother,  was  one  of 
the  popular  men  of  his  regiment,  who  years  before  had 
become  enamoured  of  and  would  marry  the  namby- 
pamby  though  pretty  daughter  of  the  old  post  chap 
lain.     She  happened  to  be  the  only  young  lady  in  the 
big  garrison  of  McPherson,  one  of  those  long  winters 
just  after  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  Forrest  was 
susceptible.     Her  prettiness  had  soon  faded,  and  there 
was  no  other  attraction  to  eke  it  out ;  but  her  husband 
was  big-hearted  and  gentle,  and  he  strove  hard  not  to 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  35 

let  her  see  he  thought  her  changed.  Still,  she  was  a 
querulous,  peevish  woman  by  this  time,  poor  girl,  and 
her  numerous  olive-branches  had  been  more  than  a 
stronger  woman  could  have  managed.  Forrest's  house 
was  not  the  jolliest  in  the  garrison,  and  he  was  given 
to  drifting  away  as  a  consequence;  but  the  previous 
summer  there  came  to  him  news  that  took  him  sud 
denly  Eastward.  He  was  gone  a  month,  and  when  he 
returned  he  brought  his  tall,  handsome,  stylish  sister 
with  him,  and  it  was  given  out  that  she  was  to  make 
her  home  with  him  henceforth, — unless,  as  said  the 
gossips,  some  other  man  claimed  her.  Some  other 
man  did, — two  some  others,  in  fact,  and  "a  very 
pretty  quarrel  as  it  stood"  was  only  nipped  in  the 
bud  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  commanding  officer 
at  Fort  Robinson  that  very  winter.  Two  young 
officers  had  speedily  fallen  in  love  with  her,  and  in 
so  doing  had  fallen  out  with  each  other.  It  was 
almost  a  fight,  and  would  have  been  but  for  the  col 
onel  commanding ;  and  yet  it  was  all  absurd,  for  she 
turned  both  of  them  adrift.  Of  her  past  she  would 
not  speak,  and  no  one  cared  to  question  Forrest.  She 
had  been  living  at  her  uncle's  in  New  York,  was  all 
that  any  one  knew,  and  finally  that  had  to  be  changed. 
She  had  come  out  with  her  bronzed  and  soldierly 
brother,  and  was  his  guest  now;  it  was  evident  that 
there  was  deep  affection  between  them;  it  was  theo- 


36  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

rized  by  the  ladies  at  Robinson  that  she  had  had  some 
unlucky  love-affair,  and  this  was  the  more  believed 
after  she  threw  over  the  two  devotees  aforementioned. 
All  manner  of  that  alluring  bait  which  women  so  well 
know  how  to  use  when  inviting  confidence  was  thrown 
to  her  from  time  to  time,  but  she  refused  it  and  inti 
macies  of  any  kind,  and  only  one  thing  saved  her 
from  being  ostracized  by  the  garrison  sisterhood, — 
her  dresses.  "  She  must  have  had  abundant  means  at 
some  time,"  said  the  ladies,  "  for  her  dresses  are  just 
lovely,  and  all  her  clothes  are  just  the  same  way,  very 
stylish  in  make  and  most  expensive  in  material."  No 
woman  could  quite  break  friendship  with  one  who  had 
such  a  mine  of  fabulous  interest  in  her  three  Saratogas. 
Nevertheless,  all  the  letters  from  Robinson  to  Laramie, 
in  speaking  of  her,  said  she  was  "  worth  seeing,  but — 
not  attractive."  "If  anything,"  wrote  one  woman, 
"  she  is  actually  repel lant  in  manner  to  half  the  ladies 
in  the  garrison."  This  was  her  status  until  late  that 
spring,  and  then  came  another  story, — a  queer  one, 
but  only  Mrs.  Bruce  received  it,  and  she  showed  the 
letter  to  her  husband,  who  bade  her  to  burn  it  and 
say  no  word  of  its  contents.  Ere  long  another  came, 
— to  Mrs.  Miller  this  time, — and  spoke  of  the  odd 
losses  sustained  by  young  officers  in  the  garrison. 
Mr.  French,  who  lived  under  the  same  roof  with 
the  Forrests,  had  been  robbed  twice.  No  clue  to 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  37 

the  perpetrator.  Then  came  the  spring  outbreak  of 
the  Sioux,  the  rush  to  join  Sitting  Bull  and  Crazy 
Horse,  the  news  of  the  sharp  fight  late  in  March,  and 
the  situation  at  Robinson  became  alarming.  April 
brought  the  refugees  to  Laramie,  and  here,  among 
others,  were  the  Forrests  and  the  .Posts. 

And  now  Miss  Forrest  was  strolling  placidly  up 
and  down  the  walk  and  entirely  monopolizing  the 
attention  of  a  tall,  fine-looking  soldier  who  had  met 
her  for  the  first  time  only  the  previous  evening  and 
was  evidently  eager  to  resume  .his  place  at  her  side. 
It  was  hardly  fair  to  the  other  women,  and  they  were 
not  slow  to  remark  upon  the  fact. 

"  One  thing  is  certain,"  said  Mrs.  Gordon,  "  if  I 
were  Nellie  Bayard  I  would  not  want  to  have  her  for 
a  step-mother,  and  the  doctor  has  been  simply  devoted 
to  her  for  the  last  three  days." 

"  Yes,  he  seems  decidedly  smitten,  Mrs.  Gordon ; 
but  did  we  not  hear  that  Dr.  Bayard  was  always  doing 
the  devoted  to  some  woman, — a  young  one  preferred?" 
asked  her  next-door  neighbor,  who  had  just  dropped 
in  for  a  moment's  chat. 

"Mrs.  Miller  certainly  told  me  so;  it  was  his  repu 
tation  in  the  East,  and  very  possibly  he  is  attracted 
now  by  such  an  undeniably  stylish  and  handsome  girl, 
She  can't  be  so  very  young,  either.  Look  at  those 
lines  under  her  eyes." 

4 


38  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  Yes,  and  when  she  turns  her  head  her  neck  shows 
it;  the  throat  is  getting  stringy.  Here  comes  the 
doctor  from  the  office  now.  I  warrant  lie  passes 
every  other  woman  and  goes  straight  to  her." 

"Then  it  will  be  'good-by,  Mr.  Mayhew,'  to  her 
present  escort,  I  warrant  you  in  return.  Fanny  For 
rest  has  no  use  for  subalterns  except  as  fun  to  pass 
away  the  time." 

"  Yet  she  made  eyes  at  Mr.  McLean  all  that  first 
day  she  was  at  the  Millers'.  I  think  that  is  really  the 
reason  Mrs.  Miller  cannot  bear  her.  She  won't  speak 
of  her  if  she  can  help  it.  Now  watch  the  doctor." 

There  were  perhaps  half  a  dozen  ladies  in  the  party 
at  the  moment,  and  all  eyes  were  fastened  on  the  tall 
and  distinguished  form  of  Dr.  Bayard  as  he  strode 
across  the  parade,  his  handsome,  portly  figure  showing 
to  excellent  advantage  in  his  snug-fitting  uniform. 
They  saw  him  bare  his  head  and  bow  with  courtier- 
like  grace  to  Miss  Forrest  and  again  to  her  escort  as 
he  stopped  and  extended  his  hand.  Then,  after  a.  few 
words,  he  again  bowed  as  gracefully  as  before  and 
passed  on  in  the  direction  of  the  hospital. 

"Certainly  the  most  elegant  man  in  manner  and 
bearing  we  have  seen  at  Laramie  for  I  don't  know 
when,"  said  Mrs.  Gordon.  "  I  don't  wonder  Nellie 
worships  him." 

"She  thinks  her  father  simply  perfect,"  was  Mrs. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  39 

Wells's  reply.  "  I  dread  to  think  what  it  will  cost 
her  when  disillusion  comes,  as  come  it  must.  Why ! 
Who  is  that  he  is  talking  with  now  ?" 

At  the  north-west  corner  of  the  quadrangle,  just 
beyond  "  Bedlam,"  the  doctor  had  encountered  a 
stoutly-built  man  who  wore  an  overcoat  of  handsome 
beaver  fur  thrown  wide  open  over  the  chest  in  defer 
ence  to  the  spring-like  mildness  of  the  morning,  and 
who  carried  a  travelling-bag  of  leather  in  one  hand. 
After  a  moment  of  apparently  cordial  chat  the  two 
men  walked  rapidly  southward  along  the  gravel  path, 
all  eyes  from  all  the  piazzas  upon  them  as  they  came, 
and,  passing  one  or  two  groups  of  ladies,  entered  the 
gateway  at  the  doctor's  quarters,  where  Nellie  Bayard 
with  "  the  Gordon  girls"  happened  to  be  seated  on  the 
veraiM&.  Mrs.  Gordon  and  Mrs.  Wells  arose  from 
their  chairs  and  gazed  across  the  parade,  in  their  very 
natural  curiosity  to  see  what  was  going  on  "  over  at 
the  doctor's."  They  saw  the  stranger  raise  his  cap, 
and  bow  low  over  the  hand  that  Nellie  extended  to 
him,  and  then  make  a  bobbing  obeisance  to  each  of 
the  Gordon  girls  as  he  was  presented  to  them.  Then 
he  took  a  chair  by  Miss  Bayard's  side,  while  the  ser 
vant  came  out  and  relieved  him  of  his  overcoat  and 
bag,  and  the  Gordon  girls  were  seen  saying  adieu. 
Nellie  followed  them  to  the  gate,  but  they  evidently 
felt  that  the  stranger  had  not  come  to  see  them,  and 


40  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

that  it  was  time  to  leave.  The  ladies  on  the  home 
piazza  awaited  their  coining  with  no  little  impatience, 
and  Mrs.  Gordon  was  prepared  to  administer  a  sharp 
maternal  reproof  when  they  were  seen  to  stop  in 
answer  to  hails  from  the  groups  they  passed  en  route. 
Everybody  wanted  to  know  who  the  fur-coated  stranger 
was,  and  their  progress  homeward  from  the  south-west 
angle  was,  therefore,  nothing  short  of  "running  the 
gauntlet"  of  interrogations.  Possibly  in  anticipation 
of  the  displeasure  awaiting  her,  the  elder  maiden  of 
the  two  strove  to  "  cut  across  lots"  when  she  came  near 
the  south-eastern  corner,  whereat,  facing  north,  stood  the 
big  house  of  the  commanding  officer ;  but  Mrs.  Miller 
was  too  experienced  a  hand,  and  bore  down  upon  the 
pair  in  sudden  swoop  from  her  piazza  to  the  front  gate, 
and  they  had  to  stop  and  surrender  their  information. 

As  a  consequence,  every  woman  along  that  side  of 
Laramie  knew  before  Mesdames  Gordon  and  Wells 
that  Roswell  Holmes,  of  Chicago,  the  "  wealthy  mine- 
owner  and  cattle-grower,"  had  just  arrived  in  his  own 
conveyance  from  Cheyenne,  and  had  been  invited  to 
put  up  at  the  doctor's  quarters  during  his  stay  at  the 
fort. 

"  Think  of  it !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Gordon,  "a  bachelor, 
only  thirty-eight,  and  worth  a  million.  No  wonder 
Dr.  Bayard  seized  him  !" 

"  The  doctor  knew  him  before,  mother,"  put  in  her 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  41 

daughter.  "Nellie  wasn't  introduced  at  all.  He 
came  right  up  and  told  her  how  glad  he  was  to  see 
her  again, — he  looked  it,  too." 

"They  knew  him  in  Chicago, — met  him  there  on 
the  way  out,"  said  the  younger.  "  I  heard  the  doctor 
say  so.  Now,  look  !  Here  come  Fanny  Forrest  and 
Mr.  Mayhew,  and  she  wants  to  know  who  the  stranger 
is ;  if  she  doesn't  she's  the  first  person  I've  met  who 
didn't  ask." 

But  Miss  Forrest  proved  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
so  far  as  questions  were  concerned,  at  least.  She 
stopped  in  front  of  the  gate,  looking  beamingly  up 
at  the  group  on  the  piazza. 

"  Mrs.  Gordon,"  she  said,  "  Mr.  Mayhew  has  in 
vited  me  to  walk  down  to  the  camp  of  the  battalion, 
and,  as  I  haven't  been  outside  the  limits  of  the  post 
since  we  came,  I  should  like  to  go.  They  are  to  have 
inspection  in  '  field  kits'  in  half  an  hour.  Don't  you 
want  to  come  with  the  girls  ?  He  says  there  are  half 
a  dozen  young  gentlemen  down  there  who  are  eager  to 
see  them " 

"Oh,  mamma,  do!"  implored  both  girls  in  a 
breath. 

"  Why,  I  hardly  know,  Miss  Forrest,"  answered 
Mrs.  Gordon,  hesitatingly.  "  Cannot  Mrs.  Forrest  go  ?" 

"  Ruth  is  never  ready  to  go  anywhere,"  answered 
Miss  Forrest,  half  laughingly,  yet  with  a  certain 


42  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

rueful  emphasis.  "  She  is  ,a  slave  to  her  babies,  and  as 
for  Celestine,  the  nurse,  she  is  no  help  to  her  whatever." 

"  Of  course  you  girls  must  have  a  '  matron/  "  said 
Mrs.  Gordon.  "How  long  will  you  be  there,  Mr. 
Mayhew?" 

"Oh,  just  about  half  an  hour  or  so,  Mrs.  Gordon. 
Then  inspection  will  be  over,  and  we  fellows  can  all 
come  back  with  you.  It's  just  for  the  walk,  you 
know,  and  the  pleasure  it  will  give  a  raft  of  second 
lieutenants."  (Mr.  Mayhew  was  a  first  lieutenant  of 
one  year's  standing.)  "  They'll  bless  me  for  bringing 
them  down." 

"  Do  let  the  girls  go  with  us,  Mrs.  Gordon,  and  if 
you  are  too  busy  I'll  see  Euth  at  once.  I  can  make 
Celestine  stay  home  and  look  after  the  children, 
though  she  cannot;  and  here  come  Mr.  Hatton  and 
Mr.  McLean.  One  of  them,  at  least,  will  be  glad  to 
join  us,"  said  Miss  Forrest,  with  the  confidence  of 
handsome  womanhood.  "  Perhaps  both  of  them.  No. 
They  are  turning  off  across  the  parade.  Call  them, 
Mr.  Mayhew.  Let  no  guilty  man  escape." 

Obediently  Lieutenant  Mayhew  shouted  to  the  two 
young  officers  who  had  just  come  forth  from  the  pres 
ence  of  the  major  commanding.  Both  were  in  undress 
uniform  and  sword-belts ;  both  had  caught  sight  of 
the  tall  girl  at  the  Gordons'  gate  at  the  same  instant, 
and,  had  any  one  disposed  to  be  critical  been  looking 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  43 

on,  that  somebody  would  have  been  justified  in  saying 
they  "  sheered  off"  the  very  next  instant  so  as  not  to 
pass  her  by  within  speaking  distance.  Mrs.  Miller, 
sitting  where  she  could  see  the  whole  affair,  was  struck 
by  the  sudden  change  in  their  line  of  direction,  and 
watched  them  in  no  little  curiosity  as  they  halted  in 
recognition  of  Mayhew's  call. 

"What  is  it,  Mayhew?"  sung  out  Hatton. 

"Come  over  here  a  minute,  you  and  McLean.  I 
have  a  scheme  to  unfold." 

"Can't;  I'm  officer  of  the  day." 

"  Well,  you  come,  McLean.  Miss  Forrest  wants 
to  speak  with  you." 

"Mac,  there's  no  way  eut  of  it,"  growled  Hatton 
between  his  set  teeth;  "you've  got  to  go." 

"Be  at  the  house  in  ten  minutes,  then.  I'll  join 
you  there,"  said  McLean,  glancing  over  his  shoulders 
at  his  comrade  as  he  started  across  the  springy  turf 
to  obey  the  summons.  "  What  is  it,  Miss  Forrest  ?" 
he  inquired.  "Good-morning  Mrs.  Gordon — Mrs. 
Wells — everybody,"  he  continued,  as,  with  forage 
cap  in  hand,  he  made  his  obeisance  to  the  various 
ladies  of  the  party. 

"  I  want  you  to  prove  how  we  Bedlamites  stand 
by  one  another  by  placing  yourself  under  my  orders 
for  a  whole  hour.  You  have  no  duty  or  engagement, 
have  you?" 


44  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

McLean  would  have  given — he  knew  not  what — 
to  be  able  to  say  he  had;  but  this  rencontre  was 
something  utterly  unlocked  for.  He  could  easily 
have  pleaded  letters,  or  company  duty,  but  evasion 
was  a  trick  he  could  not  brook.  "  I  have  none," 
he  quietly  answered. 

"Then,  for  the  honor  of  Bedlam,  offer  your  ser 
vices  to  these  young  ladies  and  be  their  escort  down 
to  camp,  where  they  are  dying  to  go." 

"  Why,  Fanny  Forrest !  how  dare  you  ?"  gasped 
Kate  Gordon,  the  elder. 

"  Indeed,  Miss  Forrest,  I  will  not  have  a  detailed 
escort,"  indignantly  protested  Jeannie,  the  younger. 

"  What  illimitable  effrontery  P  was  the  muttered 
comment  of  Mrs.  Wells,  while  poor  Mrs.  Gordon 
hardly  knew  what  to  say  or  do  in  her  amaze  and 
annoyance.  McLean  himself  had  flushed  crimson 
under  the  combined  influence  of  embarrassment  and 
the  recollection  of  the  long  talk  he  and  Hatton  had 
had  but  two  nights  before.  May  hew,  too,  could 
hardly  control  his  surprise,  but  he  declared  after 
ward,  when  the  matter  came  up  for  comment  down 
at  camp,  that  he  would  "give  a  heap  to  have  that 
man  McLean's  self-possession,"  for  with  hardly  an 
instant's  delay  the  latter's  voice  was  heard  above  the 
voluble  protests  of  the  two  young  ladies, — cordial, 
kindly,  even  entreating. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  45 

"I  should  like  it,  of  all  things.  I  want  to  run 
down  and  see  the  First  in  the  new  field  rig.  Do 
let  the  girls  go  with  me,.  Mrs.  Gordon.  Come,  Miss 
Kate ;  come,  Miss  Jeaunie.  I'll  leave  my  sword  at 
my  quarters  as  we  go." 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Mayhew  ?"  said  Miss  For 
rest,  with  heightened  color  and  a  confident  smile  as 
she  took  his  arm.  "It  is  something  to  be  a  queen, 
if  it's  only  the  queen  of  Bedlam." 

And  though,  rather  than  create  a  scene,  Mrs.  Gor 
don  and  her  daughters  joined  the  party,  and  Mrs. 
Wells  and  Miss  Bruce  decided  to  go,  it  was  noticed 
then  and  referred  to  afterward  that  Mr.  McLean 
never  so  much  as  looked  at  Miss  Forrest  or  noticed 
her  in  any  way  at  the  time  of  this  occurrence.  It 
was  hardly  night  before  the  story  had  gone  all  over 
the  garrison,  and  added  to  Miss  Forrest's  growing 
unpopularity;  and  it  was  kind-hearted  Mrs.  Miller 
herself  who  exclaimed,  on  hearing  the  details  in  the 
inevitably  exaggerated  form  in  which  all  such  narra 
tive  must  travel,  "  I  declare  !  the  title  she  has  assumed 
seems  to  fit  her, — Queen  of  Bedlam,  indeed !" 


IV. 

THE  doctor  was  giving  a  little  dinner  in  honor  of 
his  friend  Mr.  Holmes.  Two  days  now  had  that 
gentleman  been  in  garrison,  where  his  advent  had 
created  more  of  a  flutter  than  the  coming  of  an  in 
spector-general.  He  had  a  large  cattle-range  farther 
to  the  south,  beyond  the  Chugwater  and  comparatively 
removed  from  the  scene  of  Indian  hostility  and  depre 
dation  ;  but  such  had  become  the  laxity  of  discipline 
on  the  part  of  the  bureau  officials,  or  such  was  their 
dread  of  their  turbulent  charges  at  the  reservations, 
that,  from  time  to  time,  marauding  parties  of  young 
warriors  had  been  raiding  from  the  agencies  during 
the  month  of  April,  crossing  the  Platte  Eiver  and 
dashing  down  on  the  outskirts  of  the  great  cattle-herds 
south  of  Scott's  Bluffs  and  in  the  valleys  of  Horse- 
head  and  Bear  Creeks.  One  party  had  even  dared  to 
attack  the  ranches  far  up  the  Chugwater  Valley  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Cheyenne  road;  another  had  ridden 
all  around  Fort  Laramie,  fording  the  Platte  above 
and  below ;  and  several  of  them  had  made  away  with 
dozens  of  head  of  cattle  bearing  the  well-known  brand 
of  Mr.  Holmes  of  Chicago.  It  was  to  see  what  could 
be  done  toward  preventing  the  recurrence  of  this  sort 
46 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  47 

of  thing  that  brought  Mr.  Holmes  to  Laramie.  At 
least  he  said  so,  but  there  were  ladies  in  the  garrison 
who  were  quick  to  determine  that  something  worth 
more  to  him  than  a  few  hundred  head  of  cattle  had 
prompted  him  to  take  that  dangerous  ride  up  from  the 
railway.  "He  would  never  have  thought  it  worth 
while,"  said  Mrs.  Wells  after  a  day  of  quiet  observa 
tion,  "had  Nellie  Bayard  not  been  here." 

Another  thing  to  give  color  to  this  theory  was  the 
fact  that,  yielding  to  the  importunities  of  Major  Miller 
and  his  frequent  telegraphic  reports  of  Indian  dashes 
on  the  neighboring  ranches,  the  division  commander 
had  ordered  a  troop  of  cavalry  back  from  patrol  duty 
around  the  reservation,  and  "  The  Grays"  had  marched 
in  the  very  night  before.  A  scouting  party  of  an 
officer  and  twenty  troopers  rode  forth  that  morning 
with  orders  to  look  over  the  Chugwater  and  the  inter 
vening  country  around  Eagle's  Nest.  If  Mr.  Holmes 
were  in  a  hurry  to  get  back  to  business,  here  was  ex 
cellent  opportunity  of  driving  half  the  way  to  Chey 
enne  under  escort.  But  Mr.  Holmes,  who  had  been 
somewhat  emphatic  in  his  announcement  that  he  could 
only  stay  one  day,  was  apparently  well  content  with 
his  comfortable  quarters  under  the  doctor's  roof.  He 
might  now  stay  longer,  he  said,  for  while  up  in  that 
part  of  the  country  he  might  just  as  well  look  over 
some  mines  in  the  Black  Hills,  provided  there  were  a 


48  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

chaiice  of  getting  thither  alive.  Except  for  heavily 
guarded  trains,  all  communication  was  at  an  end  be 
tween  the  scattered  settlements  of  the  Hills  and  the 
posts  along  the  Platte  and  the  Union  Pacific  Kailway. 
The  Indians  swarmed  out  from  the  reservations,  at 
tacking  everything  that  appeared  along  the  road,  and 
sometimes  capturing  the  entire  "outfit;"  after  plunder 
ing  and  scalping  their  victims  they  built  lively  fires  of 
the  wagons,  and  cheerfully  roasted  alive  such  of  their 
prisoners  as  had  the  ill-luck  not  to  be  killed  in  the 
first  place.  The  road  to  the  Black  Hills,  either  from 
Sidney  or  by  way  of  Fort  Laramie,  was  lined  with  the 
ashes  of  burned  wagons,  and,  in  lieu  of  mile-posts, 
was  staked  with  little,  rude,  unpainted  crosses,  each 
marking  the  grave  of  some  victim  of  this  savage  war 
fare;  and  Mr.  Holmes  was  quite  right  in  his  theory 
that  it  would  be  far  safer  and  pleasanter  to  stay  at 
Laramie  until  some  big  party  went  up  to  the  Hills. 
The  doctor  was  most  hospitable  in  his  pressing  invita 
tion  for  him  to  make  his  house  a  home  just  as  long  as 
it  might  please  him.  Nellie  was  glad  to  win  her  be 
loved  father's  praise  by  doing  what  she  could  to  make 
the  army  homestead  attractive  to  his  guest ;  the  guest 
himself  was  courteous,  well-bred,  and  cordial  in  man 
ner,  readily  winning  friends  all  over  the  garrison ;  and 
the  only  man  to  whom  his  protracted  visit  became  a 
matter  of  serious  disquietude  was  poor  Randall  Me- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  49 

Lean.  With  a  lover's  intuition  he  saw  that  the 
wealthy  Chicagoan  was  deeply  interested  in  sweet 
Nellie  Bayard,  and  that  her  father  eagerly  favored 
the  suit. 

Up  to  the  hour  of  Mr.  Holmes's  arrival,  there 
was  not  a  day  on  which  the  young  fellow  had  not 
enjoyed  a  walk  or  one  or  more  delightful  chats  with 
the  doctor's  pretty  daughter.  He  had  no  rivals ; 
there  were  at  the  moment  no  other  bachelor  officers 
at  the  post,  with  the  exception  of  Hatton,  who,  be 
sides  having  a  chivalrous  disposition  not  to  cut  in 
where  his  comrade  was  interested,  was  popularly 
supposed  to  be  the  peculiar  property  of  Miss  Janet 
Bruce. 

Now,  however,  since  Mr.  Holmes  had  taken  up 
his  abode  under  the  JEsculapian  vine  and  fig-tree, 
McLean  found  it  simply  impossible  to  see  the  lady 
of  his  love  except  in  general  company.  The  Chicago 
capitalist,  despite  his  thirty-eight  years,  was  rarely 
out  of  reach  of  the  little  pink  ear,  and,  though 
courteous  and  unobtrusive,  it  was  patent  to  McLean 
that  he  meant  no  other  man  should  charm  it  with 
a  lover's  wooing  until  his  own  substantial  claims  had 
had  full  consideration.  No  matter  at  what  hour  the 
lieutenant  called,  there  was  Koswell  Holmes  in  the 
parlor ;  and,  when  he  sought  to  engage  her  for  a 
walk,  it  so  happened  that  papa  and  Mr.  Holmes  had 
c  d  5 


50  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

arranged  to  go  calling  at  that  very  time,  and  papa 
had  expressed  his  wish  that  she  should  go  too. 
It  began  to  look  very  ominous  before  the  end  of 
that  second  day,  and  when  the  evening  of  the  dinner 
came  Mr.  McLean  was  decidedly  low  in  his  mind. 
He  was  not  even  invited. 

Now  there  was  nothing  in  this  circumstance  to 
which  he  should  have  attached  any  importance  what 
ever.  Army  quarters  are  small  at  best,  and  a  dining- 
room  on  the  frontier  big  enough  to  accommodate  a 
dozen  people  was  in  those  days  a  decided  rarity. 
The  doctor,  after  consultation  with  Nellie  and  with 
the  presiding  goddess  in  the  kitchen,  had  decided 
upon  ten  as  the  proper  number  to  be  seated  at  his 
table.  There  would  then  be  no  crowding,  and  all 
might  go  off  without  confusion.  Very  proud  was 
the  doctor  of  some  precious  old  family  plate  and 
some  more  modern  and  even  more  beautiful  china 
with  which  he  adorned  his  table  on  state  occasions. 
He  wanted  to  make  an  impression  on  his  wealthy 
guest,  and  this  was  an  opportunity  not  to  be  neg 
lected.  He  gave  much  thought,  too,  to  the  compo 
sition  of  his  party.  The  commanding  officer  and 
his  wife  must,  of  course,  be  invited.  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Bruce  he  decided  upon  because  they  were 
people  of  much  travel  and,  for  army  folks,  remark 
ably  well  read  and  informed.  They  would  reflect 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  51 

credit  on  his  entertainment.  The  adjutant  and  his 
wife  were  also  bidden  as  being  guests  who  would 
grace  his  board.  But  he  did  not  invite  even  his  own 
junior  and  assistant,  Dr.  Weeks.  "I  can  explain 
all  that,  Nellie.  He  won't  mind,"  he  said,  "and 
besides,  if  Holmes  can  stay  till  the  end  of  the  week, 
I'll  give  another  and  have  all  the  youngsters."  She 
had  brightened  up  at  that,  for  her  heart  misgave 
her  a  little  at  the  thought  of  her  most  loyal  friends 
being  left  out  in  the  cold.  Then  she  looked  very 
grave  again  when  his  next  words  were  spoken.  "And 
now,  dear,  we  want  one  more  lady  to  make  our 
party  complete,  and  no  one  will  do  as  well  as  Miss 
Forrest." 

Poor  Nellie!  She  knew  not  what  to  say.  Her 
father  was,  of  course,  cognizant  of  the  growing  dis 
like  to  that  strange  girl,  and  had  pooh-poohed  some 
of  the  stories  that  had  been  brought  to  his  ears. 
There  was  not  a  woman  in  the  officers'  quarters 
whom  she  would  not  rather  have  invited,  yet  from 
the  very  first  she  felt  in  the  depths  of  her  soul  that 
Miss  Forrest  would  be  her  father's  choice.  One 
timid  little  suggestion  she  made  in  favor  of  Janet 
Bruce,  since  her  parents  were  to  be  of  the  party ; 
but  the  doctor  promptly  scouted  it. 

"Why,  daughter,  she's  barely  seventeen,  a  girl 
who  would  not  be  in  society  at  all  anywhere  in 


52  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

civilization;'7  and  with  a  sigh  Nellie  abandoned  the 
point.  " Besides/'  said  the  doctor  as  a  clincher,  "I 
want  this  a  ' swell'  affair;  just  think  how  much 
Miss  Forrest's  taste  in  dress  will  help  out." 

Certainly  his  judgment  was  warranted  by  her  ap 
pearance  the  evening  of  the  dinner,  when,  the  last 
guest  to  arrive,  Fanny  Forrest  came  rustling  down 
the  stairs  and  into  the  brightly  lighted  parlor.  It 
had  begun  to  rain  just  before  sunset,  and  she  had 
brought  Celestine  with  her  to  hold  the  umbrella 
over  her  while  her  own  jewelled  hands  gathered 
those  costly  skirts  about  her  under  the  folds  of  the 
gossamer  that  enveloped  her  from  head  to  feet.  The 
girl,  a  bright,  intelligent  mulattress,  followed  her 
mistress  up-stairs  to  the  room  set  apart  for  the  use 
of  the  ladies,  and  was  busy  removing  her  wraps 
when  Nellie  ran  up  to  inquire  if  she  could  be  of 
any  assistance. 

"Thank  you  heartily,  Nellie,"  was  the  cordial 
answer.  "  How  simply  exquisite  you  look  to-night!" 
and  Miss  Forrest's  winsome  smile  was  brighter  than 
ever  as  she  bent  her  head  to  kiss  the  reluctant 
cheek  that  seemed  to  pale  under  her  touch.  "  No, 
run  back  to  your  guests.  Celestine  will  put  me  to 
rights  in  a  minute,  and  I'll  be  down  in  a  jiffy ; 
don't  wait." 

And  so  Nellie  returned  to  the  parlor,  and  in  a  mo- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  53 

ment  Celestine  came  down  and  passed  out  at  the  front 
door,  and  then  Miss  Forrest's  light  footfalls  could  be 
heard  aloft  as  the  guests  grouped  themselves  about  the 
parlor, — the  men  in  their  full-dress  uniforms,  except, 
of  course,  their  civilian  friend, — the  ladies  in  their 
most  becoming  dinner  toilet.  Despite  her  growing 
unpopularity  every  eye  was  turned  (with  eagerness  on 
the  part  of  the  women  and  Dr.  Bayard)  when  Miss 
Forrest's  silken  skirts  came  sweeping  down  the  stairs. 
Her  entr&e  was  a  triumph. 

"Thought  you  said  her  neck  showed  her  age," 
whispered  the  major  to  his  better  half.  "  Why,  her 
neck  and  arms  are  superb!"  a  speech  that  cost  him 
metaphorical  salt  in  his  coffee  for  the  next  three  days. 
The  doctor  stepped  forward  in  his  most  graceful  man 
ner  to  meet  and  welcome  her.  Captain  Bruce  could 
not  refrain  from  hobbling  up  and  saying  a  word  of 
admiration;  even  Mr.  Holmes  fixed  his  dark  eyes 
upon  her  in  unmistakable  approval,  and  spoke  a  few 
courteous  words  before  he  turned  back  to  Nellie's  side ; 
and  Mrs.  Miller  unlimbered  her  eye-glasses,  mounted 
them  on  her  prominent  nose,  gazed  long  and  earnestly 
at  the  self-possessed  young  woman  who  was  the  centre 
of  the  group,  and  then  looked  for  sympathy  to  Mrs. 
Bruce— and  found  it.  Never  in  her  life  had  Fanny 
Forrest  looked  better  than  she  did  that  night.  Her 
eyes,  her  color,  her  smiles  were  radiance  itself;  her 

5* 


54  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

mobile  lips  curved  over  teeth  as  white  and  gleaming 
as  crystalled  snow.  Her  bare  neck  and  arms,  beauti 
fully  moulded,  were  set  off  to  wonderful  advantage  by 
the  dress  she  wore, — a  marvellous  gown  of  rich,  rare, 
lustrous  black  silk,  that  fell  from  her  rounded  hips  in 
sweeping  folds  that  the  women  could  not  sufficiently 
admire,  while  their  eyes  gloated  over  the  wealth  of 
gold  with  which  the  entire  front  from  the  bosom  to 
the  very  hem  of  the  skirt  was  heavily  embroidered. 
An  aigrette  of  gold  shone  in  the  dark  masses  of  her 
hair,  but  not  a  vestige  of  gold  or  gems  appeared  either 
at  her  throat  or  in  her  ears.  In  her  jewelled  hand  she 
carried  a  fan  of  black  silk,  gold  embroidered  like  her 
dress,  and  the  tiny  slippers  that  peeped  from  the  hem 
of  her  robe  were  of  the  same  material  and  embroidered 
in  a  miniature  of  the  same  pattern. 

"  Fort  Laramie  never  saw  anything  handsomer  than 
that  toilet,"  whispered  Mrs.  Bruce  to  the  major's  wife 
at  the  earliest  opportunity ;  and  the  latter,  kind  soul, 
was  sufficiently  melted  by  the  sight  to  think  of  her 
neighbors  and  say,  "How  I  wish  Mrs.  Jordan  and 
Mrs.  Wells  were  here  to  see  it  I" 

The  dinner  went  off  merrily  as  chimes  a  marriage- 
bell.  The  doctor  was  in  his  element  when  presiding 
at  a  well-appointed  table ;  his  cook  was  one  whom  he 
had  had  at  Newport  and  Boston  Harbor,  and  a  very 
reliable  servitor  as  such  characters  go ;  his  wines  were, 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  55 

some  of  them,  gifts  from  wealthy  and  aristocratic 
patients  whom  he  had  managed  to  serve  in  the  days 
when  the  sunshine  of  official  favor  illumined  his  daily 
life ;  he  had  a  fund  of  anecdote  and  table  talk ;  his 
guests  were  responsive  and  full  of  appreciation  of 
the  entertainment  provided  for  them.  Nellie,  in  her 
shy  maidenhood,  was  a  lovely  picture  at  the  head  of 
his  board;  and  Holmes,  who  sat  at  her  left,  was  evi 
dently  more  impressed  than  ever.  A  son-in-law  like 
that,  rich,  manly,  and  educated,  a  leader  of  affairs  in 
the  city  where  he  made  his  home, — the  very  thought 
lent  inspiration  to  the  doctor's  life.  If  the  judges 
and  the  senators  of  the  East  had  turned  their  backs 
upon  him,  here  he  could  find  new  power  and  influence 
among  the  active  sons  of  the  young  and  vigorous 
West.  What  a  pity !  What  a  pity !  he  thought, 
that  the  general  commanding  the  division  were  not 
here.  He  was  coming,  they  all  knew,  and  might  be 
along  any  day.  Now,  if  he  had  only  arrived  in  time 
to  be  one  of  the  guests  this  bright  evening,  who  can 
say  what  the  effect  might  not  have  been  ? 

It  must  have  been  just  before  tattoo — after  they 
had  been  at  the  table  a  full  hour,  and  tongues  were 
loosened  by  the  doctor's  good  wine,  and  laughter  and 
jest  and  merry  talk  were  going  round — that  Mrs. 
Miller,  sitting  at  the  doctor's  right  as  became  the  lady 
of  the  commanding  officer,  was  surprised  to  see  the 


56  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

hall-door,  which  had  been  closed  throughout  the 
evening,  swing  very  slowly  a  few  inches  inward.  At 
the  same  moment  the  lace  curtains  that  hung  about 
the  archway  leading  into  the  parlor  swayed  noiselessly 
toward  her  and  then  settled  back  to  their  normal  posi 
tion.  Presently  the  major,  who  was  at  Miss  Bayard's 
right,  and  with  his  back  close  to  the  hall-door,  began 
to  figdet  and  look  uneasily  about.  The  doctor  was 
just  telling  a  very  good  story  at  the  moment  and  she 
could  not  bear  to  interrupt  him,  but  after  the  laughter 
and  applause  had  subsided  she  came  to  her  husband's 
rescue. 

"The  major  is  keenly  susceptible  to  colds,  doctor, 
and  I  see  he  is  fidgeting  a  bit.  Would  you  mind 
having  that  door  shut?" 

"Which  door,  Mrs.  Miller?  Most  assuredly.  I 
thought  it  was  closed.  Here,  Robert,"  he  called  to 
his  colored  servant,  "go  and  see  if  the  front  door  is 
shut.  The  wind  sometimes  proves  too  much  for  these 
quartermaster's  latches,"  he  said,  apologetically.  "  Was 
it  shut?"  he  asked,  as  Robert  returned  with  an  in 
jured  air  as  of  one  who  had  been  sent  on  a  wild-goose 
chase. 

"  Perfectly  tight,  sir.  Ain't  been  open  dis  evenin' 
since  Miss  Forrest  done  got  yere,"  was  Robert's 
prompt  reply.  "I  sprung  de  latch  myself  to  keep 
it  from  floppin'  open  as  it  sometimes  does." 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  57 

"  All  right.  Never  mind.  You  feel  no  draft  now, 
do  you,  major?" 

"Not  a  particle.  It  was  all  fancy,  probably." 
And  the  laughter  and  talk  began  again. 

Later  that  long-remembered  evening,  as  they  sat 
around  a  blazing  log  fire,  for  the  night  had  been 
made  chilly  by  the  rain,  there  was  much  mirth  and 
chatter  and  gayety.  Miss  Forrest  developed  a  new 
trait  to  make  her  envied.  She  sang  with  infinite 
spirit  and  a  great  deal  of  taste.  Nellie's  piano  had 
known  no  such  performer  in  the  Western  wilderness 
as  the  brilliant  young  woman  in  the  lovely  black 
silk,  whose  fingers  went  flashing  over  the  keys,  and 
whose  voice  came  carolling  forth  in  rich  and  won 
derful  notes.  It  was  a  contralto,  or  at  least  a  deep 
mezzo,  and  the  songs  she  sung  were  well  adapted 
to  its  low  and  feeling  tones.  Mr.  Holmes  stood  over 
her  much  of  the  time  as  she  played,  and  applauded 
heartily  when  she  had  sung.  "I  did  not  expect  to 
find  such  a  nightingale  in  the  wilderness,"  he  said. 

"You  were  looking  for  a  very  different  object, 
were  you  not?"  said  she,  raising  her  dark  eyes  to 
his  in  deep  scrutiny,  then  dropping  them  quickly 
until  the  lashes  swept  her  cheek. 

"Possibly,"  he  replied,  with  calm  gravity.  "I 
had  several  objects  in  view,  but  I  rejoice  in  a  visit 
that  has  enabled  me  to  hear  so  cultured  a  vocalist. 


58  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

I  wonder  no  one  spoke  of  your  singing  before,  Miss 
Forrest." 

"Cease  to  wonder,  Mr.  Holmes.  It  is  the  first 
time  I  have  seen  a  piano  in  six  months  or  more. 
We  had  none  at  Robinson,  and  I  would  have  felt 
little  like  singing  if  there  had  been  one." 

"May  I  ask  where  you  studied  music?" 

"You  may.  It  is  evident  that,  like  most  people 
I  know  in  civilization,  you  are  surprised  to  hear  of 
accomplishments  of  any  kind  other  than  shooting  and 
ruling  in  the  army." 

Holmes  laughed  merrily.  "You  are  loyal  to  the 
comrades  of  your  adoption,  Miss  Forrest,  and  yet 
they  tell  me  your  frontier  life  began  less  than  a  year 
ago." 

"  True ;  but  I  like  the  men  I've  met  here,  and 
might  like  the  women  if  they  would  let  me.  As 
yet,  however,  we  do  not  seem  to  agree,  thanks  to 
an  unfortunate  propensity  of  mine  for  saying  what 
happens  to  be  uppermost  in  my  mind  at  the  mo 
ment  ;  possibly  for  other  good  and  equally  sufficient 
reasons.  You  asked  where  I  studied  music  ?  Mainly 
in  New  York  and  Munich." 

"You  have  been  abroad,  then?" 

"  Years ;  as  companion  to  an  invalid  aunt,  thanks 
to  whom  I  saw  very  little  of  foreign  countries,  and 
but  for  whom  I  would  bave  seen  nothing." 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  59 

"You  changed  the  subject  abruptly,  a  moment 
ago,  Miss  Forrest.  You  were  speaking  of  your 
relations  with  the  ladies  here.  Forgive  me  if  I 
refer  to  it,  for  I  was  interested  in  what  you  told 
me.  Surely  a  woman  as  gifted  as  you  are  can  never 
lack  friends  among  her  own  sex.  Have  you  never 
sought  to  win  Miss  Bayard,  for  instance?" 

There  was  a  moment's  pause.  Then  she  looked  full 
up  into  his  face,  her  fingers  rippling  over  the  keys  as 
she  spoke. 

"  Mr.  Holmes,  has  it  never  occurred  to  you  that  in 
friendship,  as  in  love,  a  girl  of  Nellie  Bayard's  age 
would  prefer  some  one  much  nearer  her  own  years  ?" 

He  drew  slowly  back  from  the  piano  and  stood  at 
his  full  height. 

u  The  doctor  is  calling  us  to  the  dining-room,  Miss 
Forrest ;  may  I  offer  my  arm  ?"  was  his  only  reply, 
and  she  arose  and  went  with  him. 

They  found  the  entire  party  grouped  about  the  table, 
which  was  now  decked  with  a  great  punch-bowl  of 
beautiful  workmanship.  A  present,  the  doctor  ex 
plained  with  evident  pride,  from  Baron  Wallewski,  of 
the  Russian  Legation  at  Washington,  whom  he  had 
«had  the  honor  of  pulling  through  a  siege  of  insomnia 
two  years  before.  It  was  more  than  anything  else  to 
display  the  beauty  of  this  costly  gift  that  he  had  called 
them  once  more  around  his  board,  but,  since  they  were 


60  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

there,  he  would  beg  them  to  fill  their  glasses  with  a 
punch  of  his  own  composition, — "  there's  not  a  head 
ache  in  a  Heidelberg  tun  of  it," — and  pledged  with 
them  the  health  of  the  distinguished  donor. 

A  ring  came  at  the  front  door  as  Robert  was  stand 
ing,  tray  in  hand,  at  his  master's  elbow.  "  Say  I'm 
engaged,  if  any  one  inquires  for  me,"  said  Bayard, 
and  launched  forth  into  some  reminiscence  of  the  days 
when  he  and  Wallewski  and  Bodisco  and  others  of 
that  ilk  were  at  Old  Point  Comfort  for  a  week  to 
gether.  Robert,  returning  from  the  front  hall,  stood 
in  silence,  like  the  well-trained  menial  he  was,  until 
his  master  finished  his  narration  and  the  guests  had 
sipped  the  toast.  It  was  a  performance  of  some  min 
utes'  duration,  and  at  last  the  doctor  turned. 

"Who  was  it?"   he  said. 

"Mr.  McLean,  sab." 

"Wanted  to  see  me." 

"JSTo,  sah.  The  commanding  officer,  sah.  He 
wouldn't  come  in ;  he's  standing  in  the  hall  yet,  sah. 
Said  s'cuse  him,  but  'twas  mos'  impawtant." 

Major  Miller  instantly  set  down  his  punch-glass, 
and  strode  out  through  the  parlor  into  the  front  hall. 
It  was  a  season  of  incessant  rumors  and  alarms,  and 
the  party  could  not  forbear  listening. 

"  Halloo,  McLean !  What's  up  ?"  they  heard  him 
say. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  61 

"A  courier  just  in  from  the  cavalry,  sir.  They've 
had  a  sharp  fight  over  in  the  Chug  Valley,  north  of 
Hun  ton's.  Two  men  killed  and  Lieutenant  Blunt 
wounded.  The  Indians  went  by  way  of  Eagle's 
Nest,  and  will  try  to  recross  the  Platte  below  us. 
Captain  Terry  is  saddling  up  the  Grays  now,  and  sent 
me  to  tell  you.  May  I  go  with  him,  sir?" 

"I'll  be  down  at  once.  Certainly,  you  may  go. 
Terry  has  no  lieutenant  for  duty  otherwise."  The 
major  reappeared  an  instant  in  the  parlor,  whither  by 
this  time  all  the  party  had  hastily  moved  uttering 
exclamations  of  dismay  and  anxiety,  for  Blunt  was  a 
young  officer  beloved  by  every  one.  "  You'll  excuse 
me,  doctor.  I  must  start  the  troop  out  in  pursuit  at 
once,"  said  Miller ;  and  then,  followed  by  his  adjutant, 
he  plunged  forth  into  the  darkness.  When  Nellie 
Bayard,  with  white  cheeks,  peeped  timidly  into  the 
hall  it  was  empty.  McLean  had  gone  without  a  look 
or  word  for  her. 

"By  Jove,  doctor,  this  sort  of  thing  makes  my 
pulses  jump,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Holmes  the  moment  the 
major  had  gone.  "Can't  I  go  and  see  the  start? 
I'd  like  to  offer  a  prize  to  the  troop — or  something." 

"Of  course  you  can.  I'll  go,  too.  We'll  all  go. 
I  know  the  ladies  want  to.  Run  up  and  get  your 
wraps,  though  it  isn't  raining  now."  And  the  ladies, 
one  and  all,  scurried  away  up  the  stairs. 

6 


62  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

A  moment  later  Mr.  Holmes  was  slipping  into 
his  beaver  overcoat  that  had  been  hanging  in  the 
hall.  Then  he  began  fumbling  in  the  pockets,  first 
one  and  then  another.  He  tried  the  outside,  then 
threw  it  open  and  thrust  his  hand  into  those  within 
the  broad  lapels,  a  look  of  bewilderment  coming 
over  his  face. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?"  asked  the  doctor.  "  Want 
another  cigar  ?  Here,  man !  There  are  plenty  in 
the  dining-room ;  let  me  get  you  one." 

"No,  no!  It  isn't  that!  I've  smoked  enough. 
Wait  a  moment."  And  again  he  thrust  his  hands 
deep  in  the  pockets.  "Hold  on  till  I  run  up  to 
my  room,"  he  continued,  and  darted  lightly  up  the 
stairs.  The  ladies  were  all  fluttering  down  again 
and  were  grouped  in  the  lower  hall  as  he  came  back, 
laughing,  but  with  an  odd,  white  look  about  his 
face. 

"Holmes!  Something's  the  matter.  What  have 
you  lost?  What's  been  taken?" 

"Nothing — nothing  of  any  consequence.  Come 
on.  Let  us  hurry  after  the  major,  or  we'll  miss  the 
fun.  Mrs.  Miller,  permit  me,"  and  he  offered  his 
arm  to  the  major's  wife,  who  stood  nearest  the  door. 

"No,  but  I  insist  on  knowing  what  is  missing, 
Holmes.  It  is  my  right  to  know,"  called  the  doctor, 
as  he  struggled  into  his  army  overcoat. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  63 

"Nothing  but  a  cigar-case  and  an  old  pocket-book. 
I've  mislaid  them  somewhere  and  there's  no  time  to 
look.  Come  on." 

"Mr.  Holmes,"  said  Mrs.  Miller  in  a  low  tone, 
"  I  have  abundant  reason  for  asking  and — no !  Tell 
me.  Where  was  that  pocket-book  and  how  much 
money  was  there  in  it?" 

"  In  my  overcoat-pocket,  at  sunset.  Probably  one 
hundred  dollars  or  so.  I  never  carry  much  in  that 
way.  You  will  not  speak  of  it,  Mrs.  Miller?" 

"To  my  husband  I  Inust,  and  this  very  night. 
You  do  not  dream  what  trouble  we  are  in,  with 
a  thief  in  our  very  midst." 

"Some  of  the  servants,  I  suppose,"  he  said,  care 
lessly. 

But  to  his  surprise  she  only  bowed  her  head  and 
was  silent  a  moment,  then  muttered  rather  than 
spoke  the  words, — 

"  God  knows.     I  only  hope  so !" 


V. 


"  WHAT  a  trump  that  young  fellow  McLean  seems 
to  be,  doctor,"  said  Mr.  Holmes,  reflectively,  late  that 
night  as  the  two  men  were  smoking  a  final  cigar 
together. 

"Oh,  he's  not  a  bad  lot  by  any  means,"  was  the 
reply.  "Good  deal  of  a  boy,  you  know.  Has  no 
experience  of  life.  Doesn't  know  anything,  in  fact, 
except  what  professional  knowledge  he  picked  up  at 
the  Point.  You  can't  expect  anything  else  of  an 
infantry  subaltern  whose  army  life  has  been  spent 
out  in  this  God-forsaken  country." 

"  Why  do  you  always  run  down  this  country,  doc 
tor?  It's  a  glorious  country,  a  magnificent  country. 
I  declare  I  hate  the  clatter  and  racket  and  rush  of 
Chicago  more  and  more  every  time  I  go  back  to  it." 

"That's  all  very  well.  You  are  unmarried,  and 
can  come  and  go  as  you  please.  If  you  were  a  man 
of  family  and  compelled  as  I  am  to  bring  up  a 
daughter  in  these  barbaric  wilds,  or  even  to  live  here 
at  all, — a  man  of  my  tastes  and  antecedents, — you'd 
curse  the  fates  that  landed  you  in  the  army.  Still,  I 
would  not  mind  it  so  much  if  it  were  not  for  Nellie. 
It  is  galling  to  me  to  think  of  her  having  to  spend  so 
64 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  (J5 

much  of  her  fair  young  life  in  these  garrison  associa 
tions.  Who  is  there  here,  except  possibly  Miss  Forrest, 
who,  by  birth,  education,  and  social  position,  is  fit  to  be 
an  intimate  or  friend?  What  opportunities  has  a  girl 
of  her — pardon  my  egotism — parentage  in  such  a  mill 
as  this?" 

Holmes  almost  choked  over  his  cigar.  He  bent  im 
pulsively  forward  as  though  to  speak,  but  gulped  back 
his  words,  shook  his  head,  and  began  puffing  vigo 
rously  once  more.  He  felt  that  the  time  had  not  yet 
come.  He  knew  that  with  her  he  was  making  no 
progress  whatever.  She  had  been  cordial,  sweet,  kind, 
as  befitted  her  father's  daughter  to  her  father's  guest; 
but  this  day,  as  though  her  woman's  wit  were  fath 
oming  the  secret  of  his  heart,  a  suspicion  of  reserve 
and  distance  had  been  creeping  into  her  manner  and 
deepening  toward  night.  Then  he  recalled  Miss  For 
rest's  trenchant  words ;  he  remembered  the  white  face 
that  came  bacl^  from  the  peep  into  the  empty  hall. 
Was  McLean  the  man  "  nearer  her  own  years"  who 
had  already  found  a  lodgement  in  her  heart  ?  He  had 
come  back  full  of  admiration  for  the  young  soldier 
whose  pluck  and  ambition  had  prompted  him  to  beg 
for  service  on  a  probably  dangerous  expedition,  a 
pursuit  of  the  band  that  had  wounded  his  comrade 
and  killed  two  of  his  men.  He  wanted  to  know  more 
of  him. 

e  6* 


(J6  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Speaking  of  young  McLean,  who  is  he?  The 
name  is  one  of  the  best." 

"  Oh,  he's  only  distantly  related  to  the  main  line, 
I  fancy.  The  country  is  full  of  them,  but  only  a 
few  belong  to  the  McLeans.  Of  course,  I  suppose 
they  all  hail  from  the  old  Highland  clan,  but  even 
there  the  line  of  demarcation  between  chieftain  and 
gillie  of  the  same  name  was  broad  as  the  border 
itself.  If  the  young  fellow  had  money  or  influence 
he'd  come  out  well  enough,  provided  he  could  travel 
a  year  or  so.  He  needs  polish,  savoir-faire,  and  he 
can't  travel  because  he's  in  debt  and  hasn't  a  penny 
in  the  world.-" 

"How  in  debt?  One  would  suppose  a  young 
fellow  of  his  appearance  could  live  on  his  pay,  un 
less  he  drank  or  gambled.  I  rather  fancied  he  wasn't 
given  to  that  sort  of  thing." 

"Oh,  it  isn't  that;  he's  steady  enough.  The 
trouble  with  McLean  is  some  commissary  stores 
that  were  made  away  with  by  his  sergeant  when  he 
was  '  acting'  here  last  winter.  He  could  hardly 
help  it,  I  suppose:  the  sergeant  was  an  expert  thief 
and  hid  his  stealings  completely,  and  made  a  very 
pretty  penny  selling  bacon  and  flour  and  sugar  and 
coffee  to  these  Black  Hills  outfits  going  up  the  last 
year  or  so.  When  the  regimental  quartermaster  got 
back  and  the  stores  were  turned  over  to  him,  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  (57 

sergeant  promptly  skipped,  and  McLean  was  found 
short  about  six  hundred  dollars'  worth.  They  had  a 
board  of  survey  last  winter,  and  the  orders  in  the 
case  were  only  finally  issued  a  few  weeks  ago  just 
as  he  returned  from  leave.  He's  got  to  make  it 
all  up  out  of  his  pay, — he  has  nothing  else." 

"Isn't  that  pretty  rough  on  the  youngster?" 

"Yes,  perhaps,  but  it's  business.  He  won't  have 
such  confidence  in  human  nature  again.  If  that 
sergeant  were  back  here  I  could  account  for  the  dis 
appearance  of  your  porte-monnaie  by  a  surer  hy 
pothesis  than  that  you  lost  it  or  dropped  it.  Are 
you  sure  you  dropped  it?" 

"  Well,  no,  I  can't  be  sure,"  said  Holmes,  knock 
ing  the  ashes  off  his  cigar,  "but  it  could  have  so 
happened,  very  easily.  I  was  talking  earnestly  all 
the  way  home  from  the  store,  where  we  stopped 
coming  back  from  stables,  you  remember,  and  I'm 
getting  absent-minded  at  times.  Besides,  how  else 
could  it  have  gone,  supposing  it  to  have  been  in 
the  pocket  of  the  overcoat  when  I  hung  it  in  the 
hall  just  before  dressing  for  dinner?  You  have 
had  Robert  years." 

"  He  has  been  with  me  over  seven  years,  and 
came  to  me  with  a  high  character  from  the  old 
First  Artillery.  I  never  heard  of  his  being  even 
suspected  of  dishonesty." 


(58  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"He  is  the  only  man  who  has  been  in  the  hall 
to-night.  No  one  could  have  come  in  from  the 
front  while  we  were  at  dinner." 

"No  one  without  our  knowledge.  The  door  has 
a  queer  sort  of  latch  or  lock.  Sometimes  in  high 
winds  it  would  let  go  and  blow  open,  but  some  ser 
vant  who  had  lived  here  before  we  came  put  Robert 
up  to  a  way  of  catching  it  that  proved  very  effec 
tive.  No;  nobody  was  in  the  hall  except  McLean, 
and  of  course  that  is  out  of  the  question.  Besides, 
he  had  not  time.  He  was  only  there  half  a  minute 
or  so." 

Mr.  Holmes  bowed  without  speaking.  He  remem 
bered  perfectly,  however,  that  it  was  nearer  five  min 
utes  that  Mr.  McLean  had  to  wait  there  while  the 
doctor  was  finishing  that  confounded  story.  Never 
theless,  as  the  doctor  said,  that  was  out  of  the  ques 
tion. 

"  Oh,  no !"  he  broke  in  hurriedly,  "  I  cannot  think 
any  one  here  could  have  taken  it.  It  will  turn  up 
somewhere  among  my  other  traps  to-night,  or  else  Fve 
dropped  it.  Don't  think  of  it,  doctor ;  that  distresses 
me  far  worse  than  the  loss.  Suppose  we  turn  in  now, 
and  I'll  look  around  my  room  once  more." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  doctor  tapped  softly  at  his 
guest's  door. 

"Found  it?"  he  asked. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  (59 

"  No,  not  yet ;  going  to  bed/7  was  the  answer,  ac 
companied  by  an  ostentatious  yawn.  "Good-night, 
doctor." 

Mr.  Holmes  had  indeed  found  no  pocket-book. 
The  discovery  he  made  was  far  less  welcome.  An 
amethyst  pin  with  sleeve-buttons  to  match,  a  piece 
of  personal  property  that  he  highly  valued,  had  dis 
appeared  from  his  dressing-case.  There  were  three 
pairs  of  sleepless  eyes  in  the  doctor's  quarters  when 
the  sentries  were  shouting  the  call  of  "Half-past 
twelve  o'clock."  Nellie  Bayard,  in  her  dainty  little 
white  room,  was  whispering  over  a  tear-stained  pillow 
her  prayer  for  the  safety  of  Randall  McLean,  who  was 
riding  post-haste  down  the  swollen  Platte.  Dr.  Bayard, 
too  excited  to  go  to  bed,  had  thrown  himself  on  a  sofa 
and  was  plotting  for  the  future  and  planning  an  al 
liance  for  his  fair  daughter  that  would  mean  power 
and  position  for  himself.  And  Mr.  Holmes  was 
sitting  with  darkened  face  at  his  bedside,  gazing 
blankly  at  the  handkerchief  he  had  picked  up  on  the 
floor  just  in  front  of  the  bureau,  a  handkerchief  em 
broidered  in  one  corner  with  the  letters  E.  McL. 

******** 

Over  at  the  major's  quarters  were  other  sleepless 
eyes.  It  was  late,  nearly  midnight,  when  the  com 
manding  officer  finished  dictating  his  telegraphic  de 
spatches  to  department  head-quarters,  and  when  he 


70  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

reached  his  home  Mrs.  Miller  was  still  sitting  up 
for  him.  A  faithful  and  devoted  spouse  she  was, — 
something  of  the  Peggy  O'Dowd  order,  and  prone  at 
times  to  order  him  about  with  scant  ceremony,  but 
quickly  resentful  of  any  slight  from  other  sources. 
She  could  not  bear  that  any  man  or  woman  should 
suppose  for  an  instant  that  her  major  was  not  the 
embodiment  of  every  attribute  that  became  a  soldier 
and  a  man.  She  stood  between  him  and  the  knowl 
edge  of  many  a  little  garrison  squabble  or  scandal 
rather  than  have  him  annoyed  by  tales  that  were  of 
no  consequence ;  but  now  she  had  that  to  tell  that 
concerned  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the  whole  com 
mand,  and  she  felt  that  he  must  know  at  once. 

"  Major,"  she  said  to  him  when  once  they  had  gained 
the  seclusion  of  the  marital  chamber,  "has  Captain 
Bruce  ever  said  anything  further  to  you  about  that 
story  from  Robinson  last  winter?" 

"N-nothing  much,"  answered  Miller,  who  dreaded 
that  something  more  of  the  same  kind  was  coming, 
and  would  gladly  have  avoided  the  subject. 

"  I  know  that  he  bade  Mrs.  Bruce  destroy  the  letter 
she  got  and  say  no  more  about  it,"  pursued  Mrs.  Miller, 
"  but  she  and  I  are  very  old  friends,  as  you  know,  and 
she  could  not  well  avoid  telling  me  that  after  I  told 
her  of  the  letter  I  got.  Now,  it  was  bad  enough  that 
these  things  should  have  occurred  there,  and  that  sus- 


THE    qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  71 

picion  should  have  attached  to  some  one  in  Captain 
Forrest's  household;  but  things  are  worse  than  ever 
now.  Have  you  seen  Mr.  Hatton  to-day?" 

"  I've  seen  him,  of  course,  but  he  didn't  say  any 
thing  on — on  such  a  subject." 

"Now,  I  don't  want  you  to  blame  Mr.  Hatton, 
major.  You  must  remember  that  he  has  always  said 
that  I  was  like  a  mother  to  him  because  I  nursed  him 
through  the  mountain  fever,  and  he  has  always  con 
fided  in  me  ever  since;  but  the  other  night  while  he 
was  at  the  Gordons',  the  same  night  he  came  here 
after  tattoo,  somebody  went  to  his  room  and  stole  from 
his  trunk  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  green 
backs  and  a  beautiful  scarf-pin  that  his  brother  gave 
him." 

"  And  he  did  not  report  it  to  me?"  asked  the  major, 
impetuously. 

"  He  did  not  then,  though  he  meant  to,  because  Mr. 
McLean  induced  him  to  promise  not  to,  because " 

"  Well,  because  what  ?  What  reason  could  young 
McLean  assign  that  could  justify  his  concealing  such 
a  matter  from  the  commanding  officer?" 

"  Because  he  said  it  was  cruel  to  allow  a  woman  to 
be  suspected,  when  she  had  no  man  in  the  garrison— 
husband,  brother,  or  father— to  take  her  part." 

"  A  woman  !     What  ?  some  servant  ?" 

"  Worse  than  that,  major, — Miss  Forrest." 


72  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Bang !  dropped  the  heavy  boot  the  major  had  just 
pulled  from  his  foot,  and,  one  boot  off  and  the  other 
boot  on,  he  started  up  and  stood  staring  at  his  wife  in 
blank  amaze. 

"Listen,  dear,"  she  said,  "heaven  knows  it  is  no 
pleasure  to  tell  it.  She  was  seen,  so  my  letter  said,  in 
the  quarters  of  the  officer  who  was  robbed  at  Red 
Cloud,  the  night  he  was  officer  of  the  clay.  They 
lived,  you  know,  in  the  same  building.  The  night 
Mr.  Hatton's  trunk  was  opened  she  came  very  late  to 
the  Gordons'.  Very  probably  it  was  she  with  whom 
Mr.  McLean  collided  out  on  the  parade,  though  I 
hushed  you  summarily  when  you  began  to  joke  about 
it,  and  Mr.  Hatton  hints  that  McLean  could  tell  more 
if  he  would,  but  he  has  firmly  set  his  lips  against 
saying  a  word.  However,  that  was  before  to-night. 
Now  for  something  even  worse,  because  it  has  happened 
to  a  guest  within  our  gates.  Mr.  Holmes's  porte- 
monnaie  with  over  one  hundred  dollars  was  taken 
from  his  overcoat-pocket  as  it  hung  in  the  hall  to-night, 
and  I  saw  her  go  out  there  while  you  were  having 
your  after-dinner  smoke.  I  saw  her  go  out  there  and 
stand  by  the  hat-rack  and  pretend  to  be  patting  and 
admiring  that  beautiful  fur.  My  back  was  turned,  but 
the  mirror  over  the  mantel  showed  it." 

"How  do  you  know  he  lost  it?" 

"  He  told  me  confidentially  that  he  was  sure  it  was 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  73 

taken  from  his  pocket,  but  he  is  trying  to  make  the 
doctor  believe  he  lost  it  through  his  own  carelessness." 

"Seems  to  me  you  have  confidential  relations  all 
around,  Eliza;  what  more  has  been  imparted  to  you 
as  a  secret  ?" 

"Nothing,"  answered  Mrs.  Miller,  paying  no  at 
tention  whatever  to  the  first  portion  of  the  remark ; 
"  I  have  heard  quite  enough,  combined  with  what  we 
all  know,  to  make  me  feel  that  either  crime  or  klepto 
mania  is  going  on,  and  the  '  Queen  of  Bedlam'  is  at 
the  bottom  of  it.'7 

"What  is  it  that  '  we  all  know?'" 

"  That  she  dresses  in  most  extravagant  style ;  that 
she  has  suddenly  had  to  quit  her  uncle's  roof,  where 
she  lived  for  years,  and  come  out  here  to  be  a  burden 
on  her  brother,  who  has  nothing  but  his  pay,  unless 
you  count  an  invalid  wife  and  a  riotous  young  brood 
as  assets.  She  'is  strange,  odd,  insolent,  and  defiant  in 
manner.  Shuns  all  friendship,  and  refuses  to  tell 
anybody  what  was  the  cause  of  her  leaving  New  York 
as  she  did.  One  thing  more, — she  has  sent  two  regis 
tered  letters  from  here  within  the  last  three  days " 

"Now,  how  do  you  know  that?"  burst  in  the 
major,  an  angry  light  in  his  eyes. 

"  Well,  my  dear,  don't  fly  off  at  a  tangent.     It  is  a 
perfectly  natural  thing  to  speak  of.     Hardly  anybody 
ever  sends  registered  letters." 
D  7 


74  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  That's  not  so ;  there  are  dozens  sent  by  the  officers 
and  men  after  every  pay-day." 

"  I  mean  hardly  any  women,  major.  I'm  not  talk 
ing  of  the  men.  Hardly  any  woman  ever  sends  a 
registered  letter,  and  so  when  she  "sent  two  it  was  not 
at  all  strange  that  Mrs.  Griffin  should  speak  of  it  to 
the  steward's  wife,  and  she  told  Mrs.  Gordon's  Sally, 
and  so  it  came  to  me." 

"  Oh,  yes.  I'll  be  bound  it  reached  you  sooner  or 
later,"  said  the  major  wrathfully.  "  I'm  d-blessed 
if  anything  goes  on  at  this  or  any  other  post  you 
women  don't  get  hold  of  and  knock  out  of  shape.  I 
shall  tell  Griffin  that  his  position  as  postmaster  won't 
be  worth  the  powder  to  blow  him  into  the  middle  of 
the  Platte  if  that  wife  of  his  doesn't  hold  her  tongue. 
No,  I  won't  listen  to  any  more  of  it  to-night,  anyway. 
I  want  to  think  over  what  you  have  told  me." 

*          *          *          *          *          *•*          * 

And  over  at  Bedlam  there  were  lights  still  burning 
at  one  o'clock.  One  of  them  shone  from  Mr.  Hatton's 
room  at  the  north  end  of  the  second  floor.  He  was 
officer  of  the  day,  and  that  accounted  for  it.  The 
other  beamed  from  the  corner  window  at  the  south, 
and  a  tall,  graceful,  womanly  form,  wrapped  in  a 
heavy  shawl,  was  leaning  against  the  wooden  pillar  on 
the  veranda.  A  beautiful  face  was  upturned  to  the 
few  stars  that  peeped  through  the  rifts  of  clouds  that 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  75 

angrily  swept  the  heavens.  Then,  as  one  jewelled 
hand  clasped  the  railing,  the  other  encircled  the  cold, 
white,  wooden  post,  and  in  another  moment  the 
shapely  head  was  bowed  upon  it,  and  great  sobs  shook 
the  slender  figure.  There  was  the  sudden  rattle  of  an 
infantry  sword  at  the  other  end  of  the  piazza,  and  Mr. 
Hatton,  striding  forth  from  the  hall- way,  was  startled 
to  see  a  dim,  feminine  form  spring  from  the  shadows 
at  the  southern  side  and  rush  with  sweeping  skirts 
into  the  shelter  of  the  Forrests'  hall-way. 

"I  thought  I  heard  some  one  crying  out  here," 
he  muttered,  "and  supposed  it  was  Mrs.  Forrest. 
She's  always  in  tears  now  that  the  captain  is  up  in 
the  Indian  country.  But  who  would  have  thought 
of  Miss  Forrest?" 


VI. 


AN  anxious  day  was  that  that  followed  the  de 
parture  of  Captain  Terry  and  his  "grays"  on  their 
midnight  ride  down  the  Platte.  The  river  was  so 
high  and  swollen  that  it  was  certain  that  the  In 
dians  could  have  forded  it  only  among  the  rocks 
and  shoals  up  at  Bull  Bend,  a  day's  march  to  the 
north-west,  and  that  in  getting  back  with  their  plun 
der  to  the  shelter  of  their  reservation  there  was 
only  one  point  below  Laramie  where  they  could 
recross  without  having  to  swim,  and  that  was 
full  twenty-five  miles  down  stream.  As  particulars 
began  to  come  in  of  the  fight  with  Blunt's  little 
detachment  the  previous  day,  the  major  waxed  more 
and  more  wrathful.  It  would  seem  that  there  were 
at  least  fifty  well-armed  and  perfectly-mounted  war 
riors  in  the  party,  many  of  them  having  extra  ponies 
with  them,  either  to  carry  the  spoil  or  to  serve  as 
change-mounts  when  their  own  chargers  tired.  It 
was  next  to  impossible  that  such  a  force  should  get 
away  from  the  reservation  without  it  being  a  matter 
of  common  talk  among  the  old  men  and  squaws, 
and  so  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  agent,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  notify  the  military  authorities  at  once. 
76 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  77 

But    in    this    case    no   warning   whatever   had   been 
given.     The   settlers   in   the   Chugwater   Valley  had 
no  signal  of  their  coming,  and  two  hapless  "  freight 
ers,"  toiling  up  with  ranch  supplies  from  Cheyenne, 
were  pounced  upon  in  plain  view  of  Hunton's,  mur 
dered  and  scalped  and  mutilated  just   before  Blunt 
and  his  little  command  reached  the  scene.     Despite 
the  grave  disparity  in   numbers,  Blunt  had  galloped 
in  to  the  attack,  and  found  himself  and  his  troopers 
in  a  hornet's  nest  from  which  nothing  but  his  nerve 
and  coolness  had  extricated  them.     Most  of  his  horses 
were  killed   in   the   fight    that   followed,   for   Blunt 
promptly  dismounted  his  men  and  disposed  them  in 
a  circle  around  their  wounded  comrades,  and  thereby 
managed  to  "stand  off"  the   Indians,  despite   their 
frequent  dashes  and  incessant  fire.     After  some  hours 
of  siege-work  the  savages  had  given  it  up  and  gone 
whooping  off  up  the  valley,  and  were  next  heard  of 
shooting   into   the  stage-station  at  Eagle's  Nest.     If 
he  only  had  a  hundred   cavalry,  thought  Miller,  he 
could   head   them   off   and    prevent    their   return   to 
the   reservation,  where,   once   they  crossed   the   lines, 
they  were   perfectly  safe  and  could   not   be  touched. 
All  told,  however,  Terry  could   only  take  with  him 
some  thirty  men,  and  he  was   glad   indeed   to   have 
McLean  as  a  volunteer. 

It  was  about  noon  when  the  ambulances  came  in 
7* 


78  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

from  the  Chugwater,  bringing  Mr.  Blunt  and  the 
other  wounded.  The  assistant  surgeon  of  the  post 
had  ridden  out  with  them  at  midnight,  soon  after 
the  receipt  of  the  news ;  and  now,  while  the  soldiers 
were  taken  to  the  post  hospital  and  comfortably  es 
tablished  there,  Mr.  Blunt  was  carried  up-stairs  in 
the  north  hall  of  "Bedlam"  and  stowed  away  in 
the  room  opposite  Hatton's.  M/s.  Forrest,  poor  lady, 
nearly  went  into  hysterics  as  the  young  soldier  was 
lifted  out  of  the  ambulance.  Day  and  night  her 
soul  was  tortured  with  the  dread  that  at  any  moment 
news  might  come  that  her  husband  was  either  killed 
or  wounded, — and  in  the  art  of  borrowing  trouble 
she  was  more  than  an  adept.  Her  lamentations  were 
so  loud  and  voluble  that  Miss  Forrest  quietly  but 
very  positively  took  her  by  the  arms  and  marched 
her  off  the  piazza  into  her  own  room,  where  Celes- 
tine  was  "trotting"  the  baby  to  sleep  and  nodding 
on  the  verge  of  a  nap  on  her  own  account.  The 
first  thing  Mrs.  Forrest  did  was  to  whisk  the  half- 
drowsing  infant  out  of  her  attendant's  arms,  clasp  it 
frantically  to  her  breast,  and  then  go  parading  up 
and  down  the  room  weeping  over  the  wondering 
little  face,  speedily  bringing  on  a  wailing  accompani 
ment  to  her  own  mournful  plaint.  It  was  more 
than  Miss  Forrest  could  stand. 

"For  mercy's  sake,   Ruth,  don't  drive  that  baby 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  79 

distracted !  If  you  cannot  control  your  own  tears, 
have  some  consideration  for  the  children.  There  I" 
she  added,  despairingly,  "now  you've  started  Maud 
and  Vickie,  and  if,  between  the  four  of  you,  poor 
Mr.  Blunt  is  not  made  mad  by  night-time,  he  has 
no  nerves  at  all."  And  as  she  spoke  the  hall-way 
resounded  with  the  melodious  howl  of  the  two  elder 
children,  who,  coming  in  from  play  on  the  prairie 
and  hearing  the  maternal  weepings,  probably  thought 
it  no  less  than  filial  on  their  part  to  swell  the 
chorus.  Miss  Forrest  made  a  rush  for  the  door : 

"  Maud  !  Vickie !  Stop  this  noise  instantly.  Don't 
you  know  poor  Mr.  Blunt  is  lying  in  the  next  hall, 
badly  wounded  and  very  sick  ?" 

"  Well,  marmar's  crying,"  sobbed  Maud,  with 
unanswerable  logic;  while  Victoria,  after  stuttering 
enunciation  of  the  words,  "  I'm  crying  because  he's 
going  to  die,"  wound  up  with  sudden  declaration 
of  rights  by  saying  she  didn't  care  whether  auntie 
liked  it  or  not,  she'd  cry  all  she  wanted  to;  and, 
taking  a  fresh  start,  the  six-year-old  maiden  howled 
afresh. 

It  was  too  much  for  Miss  Forrest's  scant  patience. 
Seizing  the  little  innocents  in  no  gentle  grasp,  she 
lugged  them  down  into  the  vacant  dining-room  on 
the  south  side  of  the  lower  hall,  turned  the  key  in 
the  door,  and  bade  them  make  themselves  comforta- 


80  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

ble  there  until  she  chose  to  let  them  out.  If  they 
must  howl,  there  was  the  place  where  they  would 
be  least  likely  to  disturb  the  sufferer  at  the  other 
end  of  the  building.  After  which  unwarrantable 
piece  of  assumption  of  authority  she  returned  to 
her  unhappy  sister-in-law. 

"  I  declare,  Fanny,  you  have  absolutely  no  heart  at 
all,"  sobbed  that  lachrymose  lady,  as  she  mingled  tears 
and  sniffles  with  fruitless  efforts  to  hush  her  infant. 

"  "VVh — what  have  you  done  with  my  children  ?" 

"Shut  them  up  in  the  dining-room  until  they  stop 
their  noises,"  answered  Miss  Forrest,  calmly. 

"  You  have  no  right  whatever  to  punish  my  babies," 
indignantly  protested  Mrs.  Forrest  (and  every  mother 
will  agree  with  her).  "  You  are  always  interfering 
with  them,  and  I  shall  write  to  Captain  Forrest  this 
very  day  and  complain  of  it." 

"  I  wouldn't  if  I  were  you,  Ruth,  because  yesterday 
your  complaint  was  that  I  never  took  any  notice  of 
them,  no  matter  what  they  did." 

"  Well,  you  don't !"  sobbed  the  lady  of  the  house, 
abandoning  the  original  line  of  attack  to  defend  herself 
against  this  unexpected  sortie.  Then,  suddenly  recall 
ing  the  more  recent  injury,  "At  least  you  don't  when 
you  should,  and  you  do  when  you  should  not.  Let 
me  go  to  them  instantly.  Celestine,  take  baby."  But 
Celestiue  had  vanished. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  81 

"  Give  me  the  baby,  Rath,  and  go  by  all  means. 
Then  we  can  restore  quiet  to  this  side  of  the  house 
at  least/' — and  she  took  with  firm  hands  the  shriek 
ing  infant  from  the  mother's  arms.  Mrs.  Forrest 
rushed  down  the  hall  and  melodramatically  precipi 
tated  herself  upon  her  offspring  in  the  dining-room. 
In  two  minutes'  time  the  baby's  wail  ings  ceased,  and 
when  Mrs.  Forrest  reappeared,  ready  to  resume  the 
attack  after  having  released  the  prisoners,  she  was 
surprised  'and,  it  must  be  recorded,  not  especially 
pleased  to  see  her  lately  inconsolable  infant  laughing, 
crowing,  and  actually  beaming  with  happiness  in  her 
sister-in-law's  arms. 

"  I  suppose  you've  been  feeding  that  child  sugar," 
she  said,  as  she  stopped  short  at  the  threshold. 

"  The  sugar  is  in  the  dining-room,  Ruth,  not  here." 

"  Well,  candy,  then,  and  you  know  I'd  as  soon  you 
gave  her  poison." 

"  And  yet  you  sent  Celestine  to  my  room  for  some 
for  this  very  baby  yesterday." 

"I  didn't!" 

"  Then,  as  I  have  told  you  more  than  once,  Ruth, 
Celestine's  statements  are  unreliable.  I  found  her 
in  my  room,  and  she  said  you  sent  her  for  some 
candy  for  little  Hal,  and  I  gave  it  to  her.  I  do 
not  at  all  like  her  going  to  my  room  when  I'm  not 
there." 


82  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  You  are  down  on  Celestine  simply  because  she  is 
mine,  and  you  know  it,  Fanny.  It  is  so  with  every 
thing, — everybody  that  is  at  all  dear  to  me.  That  is 
enough  to  set  you  against  them.  My  dear  old  father 
rescued  Celestine  from  bondage  when  she  was  a  mere 
baby  (a  favorite  paraphrase  of  Mrs.  Forrest's  for  de 
scribing  the  fact  that  one  of  that  damsel's  parents 
had  officiated  as  cook  at  a  Southern  hospital  where 
the  chaplain  happened  to  be  on  duty  in  the  war-days). 
Her  mother  lives  with  his  people  to  this  hour,  and  she 
has  grown  up  under  my  eyes  and  been  my  handmaiden, 
and  the  nurse  of  all  my  children,  and  never  a  word 
has  any  one  ever  breathed  against  her  until  you  came ; 
and  you  are  always  doing  it." 

"  Pardon  me,  Ruth.  I  have  only  twice  referred  to 
what  I  consider  her  shortcomings.  She  was  very 
neglectful  of  you  and  the  children  at  Robinson,  and 
was  perpetually  going  out  in  the  evening  with  that 
soldier  in  Captain  Terry's  troop,  and  now  she  is  get 
ting  to  be  as  great  a  gad-about  here.  That,  however, 
is  none  of  my  affair,  but  it  is  my  right  to  say  that  I 
do  not  want  her  prowling  about  among  the  trunks 
and  boxes  in  my  room,  and  if  you  do  not  exert  your 
authority  over  her  I  must  find  some  other  means  of 
making  her  respect  my  wishes." 

"  I  suppose  you  will  try  and  blacken  her  character 
and  have  her  sent  out  of  the  post,  and  so  rob  us  of 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  83 

the  last  relic  I  have  of  my  home  and  f-f-fr lends,"  and 
Mrs.  Forrest  began  to  sob  afresh. 

"Hush!  Ruth.  I  hear  the  doctor  in  the  hall 
below.  For  goodness'  sake,  do  try  and  look  a  little 
less  like  a  modern  Niobe  when  he  comes  up.  Here, 
take  baby,"  and  she  hugged  the  little  fellow  close  and 
imprinted  a  kiss  upon  his  dimpled  cheek.  "  I  must 
run  down  and  detain  him  a  moment  until  you  can  get 
straightened  out." 

Nothing  loath  was  Dr.  Bayard  to  spend  some  mo 
ments  in  tUe-di-Ute  converse  with  Miss  Forrest.  She 
ushered  him  into  the  dining-room, — the  only  re 
ception-room  the  two  households  could  boast  of 
under  the  stress  of  circumstances,  and  most  graciously 
received  his  compliments  on  the  "  conquests"  of  the 
previous  evening.  "  Not  only  all  eyes,  all  hearts  were 
charmed,  Miss  Forrest.  Never  even  in  the  palmiest 
days  of  Washington  society  have  I  seen  more  elegant 
and  becoming  a  toilet,  and  as  for  your  singing, — it  was 
simply  divine."  The  doctor  looked,  as  well  as  spoke, 
his  well-turned  phrases.  He  was  gallant,  debonair, 
dignified,  impressive, — "a  well-preserved  fellow  for 
forty-five,"  as  he  was  wont  to  say  of  himself.  He 
anxiously  inquired  for  her  health,  deplored  the  state 
of  anxiety  and  excitement  in  which  they  were  com 
pelled  to  live,  thanked  heaven  that  there  were  some 
consolations  vouchsafed  them  in  their  exile  and  isola- 


84  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

tion,  and  begged  her  to  be  sure  and  send  for  him 
should  she  find  the  strain  was  telling  upon  her  nervous 
system ;  it  was  marvellous  that  she  should  bear  up  so 
well;  his  little  daughter  was  really  ill  this  morning 
and  unable  to  leave  her  room,  but  then  she  was  a  mere 
child.  If  it  were  not  for  the  incomparable  pleasure 
he — they  all — found  in  her  presence  he  could  almost 
wish  that  Miss  Forrest  were  once  more  under  the 
shelter  of  her  uncle's  hospitable  roof  in  New  York 
and  "free  from  war's  alarms."  By  the  way,  where 
was  Mr. — a — her  uncle's  residence? 

"Mr.  Courtlandt's?"  she  answered,  promptly  sup 
plying  the  name.  "  In  Thirty-fourth  Street,  just  east 
of  the  avenue." 

"  To  be  sure ;  I  know  it  well,"  answered  the  doctor. 
"A  most  refined  and  aristocratic  neighborhood  it  is, 
and  Fm  sure  I  must  have  met  Mr.  Courtlandt  at  the 
Union  Club.  He  is  near  kin,  I  think,  to  the  Van 
Cortlandts,  of  Croton,  is  he  not?" 

"  Not  very  near,  doctor,  though  I  presume  there  is 
some  distant  connection." 

"Ah,  doubtless.  I  recall  him  only  vaguely.  He 
belonged  to  a  much  older  set  and  went  very  little  into 
general  society.  A  man  of  the  highest  social  con 
nections,  however,  and  of  much  wealth."  And  the 
doctor  glanced  keenly  at  her  as  he  propounded  this 
tentative. 


THE   qUEEN   OF  BEDLAM.  85 

"Yes,  Mr.  Courtlandt  is  nearly  sixty  now,  and,  as 
you  say,  doctor,  he  goes  very  little  into  general  society. 
He  prefers  his  library  and  his  books  and  an  occasional 
canter  in  the  park  to  any  other  entertainment.  In 
fact,  except  his  game  of  whist  with  some  old  cronies, 
that  is  about  all  the  entertainment  he  seeks.  His 
wife,  my  Aunt  Laura,  is  quite  an  invalid." 

"And  they  have  no  children?" 

"Yes,  one;  a  son,  who  is  now  abroad.  Shall  we 
go  up  and  see  Mrs.  Forrest  now,  doctor?  She  is 
looking  for  a  visit  from  you.  Mr.  Blunt's  appearance 
was  a  great  shock  to  her." 

It  was  growing  dusky  as  they  passed  through  the 
hall-way.  The  sun  was  well  down  in  the  west,  and 
heavy  banks  of  rain-clouds  obscured  the  heavens. 
Miss  Forrest  turned  the  knob  and  threw  open  the 
door  leading  into  the  mi  picturesque  yard  at  the  rear 
of  the  quarters.  "  A  little  light  here  will  be  an 
improvement,"  she  said.  "  Why !  who  can  that 
be?" 

As  she  spoke,  a  soldier,  who  had  apparently  been 
seated  on  the  back  steps,  was  striding  hurriedly  in  the 
direction  of  the  gate.  He  had  started  up  just  as  she 
•opened  the  door. 

"Ah,  my  man,  halt  there!"  called  the  doctor;  and 
obediently  the  soldier  turned  and  stood  attention, 
raising  his  hand  in  salute.  He  was  a  dark,  swarthy 


86  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

fellow,  with  glittering  eyes  and  rather  flat  features. 
He  wore  the  moustache  of  the  trooper,  and  had  per 
mitted  his  chin  whiskers  to  grow.  The  crossed  sabres 
of  the  cavalry  and  the  letter  and  number  of  the  troop 
and  regiment,  all  brilliantly  polished,  adorned  his 
forage-cap,  and  his  undress  uniform  was  scrupulously 
neat  and  well-fitting.  The  moment  he  turned,  Miss 
Forrest  recognized  him. 

"Oh,  it  is  Celestiue's  soldier  friend!"  she  said. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here,  my  man  ?"  asked  the 
doctor,  loftily. 

"Nothing,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  both  prompt  and 
respectful.  "The  doctor  probably  doesn't  remember 
me.  I  came  in  with  the  wounded  to-day  at  noon, — 
Mr.  Blunt's  striker,  sir." 

"Well,  Mr.  Blunt's  room  is  in  the  other  division, 
and  you  ought  to  stay  there." 

"  I  know,  sir.  I've  only  been  here  a  moment,"  was 
the  respectful  answer.  "  I  wanted  to  ask  Celestine  to 
let  me  have  a  little  ice  if  she  had  any,  but  there's  no 
one  around  the  kitchen." 

"  Go  over  to  my  quarters  and  tell  my  man  Robert 
to  give  you  a  big  lump  of  it.  My  house  is  yonder  at 
the  corner.  Tell  him  Dr.  Bayard  sent  you." 

The  soldier  saluted,  faced  about,  and  moved  away, 
a  trifle  wearily  this  time. 

"He  looks  very  tired,"  said  Miss  Forrest. 


THE  qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  87 

"  I  believe  he  is,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  Hold  on 
a  moment  there !"  he  called.  "  Were  you  out  with 
Mr.  Blunt's  command?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  All  yesterday  and  last  night.  I  had  to 
sit  up  with  the  lieutenant  all  night,  sir,  to  bathe  his 
wound." 

"  True,  true.  And  of  course  you  hadn't  a  wink  of 
sleep.  Go  to  your  barracks  and  get  a  nap.  Tm  going 
back  to  Mr.  Blunt  in  five  minutes,  and  I'll  send  the 
ice  over  right  afterward." 

"  I  thank  the  doctor,  but  Fin  not  sleepy.  Til  get 
rest  enough  to-night,"  was  the  reply,  and  again  the 
soldier  saluted  and  turned  away. 

"How  faithful  and  devoted  those  rough-looking 
fellows  can  be  to  their  officers!"  said  Miss  Forrest. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  musingly,  as  he  gazed 
after  the  retreating  form.  "Yes,  very.  Some  of 
them  are  models, — and  yet,  somewhere  or  other  I 
think  I  have  seen  that  man  before.  Do  you  know 
his  name?" 

"No.  I'll  ask  Celestine,  if  you  wish  to  know. 
She  ought  to  be  up-stairs  with  the  children  now. 
May  I  not  run  over  and  see  Miss  Bayard  presently." 

"  My  Nellie  ?  We  shall  be  charmed.  If  you  will 
only  wait  a  moment  until  I  have  seen  Mr.  Blunt,  I 
shall  be  delighted  to  escort  you.  She  is  all  alone 
unless  Mrs.  Miller  has  returned  to  her,  and  the  house 


88  THE   QUEEN   OF  BEDLAM. 

is  deserted   down-stairs.      Mr.   Holmes  is  out  some 
where  with  the  major." 

But  Miss  Forrest  did  not  wait.  No  sooner  had  the 
doctor  finished  his  brief  visit  to  her  sister-in-law  than 
the  young  lady  threw  a  light  wrap  over  her  shoulders, 
and,  just  as  the  bugle  was  sounding  first  call  for  retreat, 
she  walked  rapidly  to  the  big  house  at  the  south-west 
corner,  noiselessly  opened  the  door  without  the  for 
mality  of  ringing  for  admission,  and  in  the  gathering 
darkness  of  the  hall-way  within,  where  she  had  to 
grope  a  moment  to  find  the  banister-rail,  she  came 
face  to  face  with  Mrs.  Miller. 


VII. 

COLD  and  still  the  dawn  is  breaking.  Faint,  wan, 
and  pallid  is  the  feeble  gleam  that  conies  peeping 
over  the  low  hills  far  over  at  the  east.  Bare  and 
desolate  look  the  barren  slopes  on  every  hand. 
Not  a  tree,  not  a  shrub  of  any  kind  can  eye  dis 
cover  in  this  dim  and  ghostly  light.  All  is  silence, 
too.  Even  the  coyotes  who  have  set  up  their  un 
earthly  yelping  at  odd  intervals  during  the  night 
seem  to  have  slunk  away  before  the  coming  of  the 
morning's  sun  and  sought  the  shelter  of  their  lurk 
ing-spots.  Here  on  the  bleak  ridge,  where  three 
men,  wrapped  in  cavalry  overcoats,  are  lying  prone, 
not  a  sound  of  any  kind  beyond  an  occasional 
muffled  word  is  to  be  heard.  Three  hundred  yards 
behind  them,  down  in  the  valley,  some  thirty  shadowy 
steeds  are  cropping  at  the  dense  buffalo-grass,  while 
their  riders,  dismounted  now,  are  huddled  together 
for  warmth.  The  occasional  stamp  of  a  hoof  and 
the  snort  of  some  impatient  charger  break  the  silence 
here,  but  cannot  be  heard  out  at  the  front  where 
the  picket  is  lying.  Another  sound,  soothing,  mo 
notonous,  ceaseless,  falls  constantly  upon  the  ear  of 

8*  89 


90  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

the  waking  soldiers, — the  rush  of  the  swollen  Platte 
over  the  rocks  and  gravel  of  the  ford  a  quarter-mile 
away,  the  only  point  below  the  fort  where  the  rene 
gade  Sioux  can  recross  without  swimming,  and  they 
are  not  yet  here  to  try  it.  When  they  come  they  will 
find  Captain  Terry,  with  young  McLean  and  thirty 
troopers,  lurking  behind  the  covering  ridge,  ready 
and  willing  to  dispute  the  passage.  Through  the 
darkness  of  the  night  those  good  gray  steeds,  flitting 
like  ghosts  along  the  shore,  have  come  speeding  down 
the  Platte  to  land  their  riders  first  at  the  goal,  and 
once  here,  and  satisfied  by  scrutiny  of  the  south  en 
trance  to  the  ford  that  no  Indian  pony  has  appeared 
within  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  Terry  has  posted 
his  lookouts  on  the  ridge,  and  then,  having  hoppled 
and  "  half-lariated"  his  horses,  has  cautioned  the  men 
to  rest  on  their  arms  and  not  to  throw  off  belt  or 
spur.  "  There  is  no  telling,"  he  says,  "  what  moment 
they  may  come  along." 

McLean,  with  his  long  Springfield  rifle,  has  gone 
up  to  the  ridge  to  join  the  outlying  picket.  A  keen- 
eyed  fellow  is  this  young  soldier  and  a  splendid  shot, 
and  the  Indians  who  succeed  in  crossing  that  next 
ridge  a  mile  farther  south  and  approaching  them  un 
observed  will  have  to  wear  the  cap  of  the  "  Invisible 
Prince."  He  has  come  out  on  this  scout  full  of  pur 
pose  and  ambition.  Things  have  not  gone  happily 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  91 

with  him  during  the  past  few  days.  Profoundly  de 
pressed  in  spirits  at  the  millstone  of  debt  suddenly 
saddled  upon  him  as  the  result  of  peculations  of  the 
deserting  sergeant,  he  has  the  added  misery  of  seeing 
the  sweet-faced  girl  with  whom  he  has  fallen  so  deeply 
in  love  practically  withdrawn  from  his  daily  life  and 
penned  up  within  her  father's  house  for  the  evident 
object  of  compelling  her  to  entertain  the  devotion  of 
a  rival,  whose  wealth  and  social  position  make  him 
a  man  to  be  feared, — a  man  whom  any  woman,  old 
or  young,  might  think  twice  before  refusing.  Already 
the  people  at  Laramie  were  discussing  the  possibili 
ties, — some  of  them  in  his  very  presence;  and  there 
were  not  lacking  those  to  say,  that,  even  if  she  had 
been  more  than  half  inclined  to  reciprocate  Mc 
Lean's  evident  attachment,  she  would  be  a  fool  not 
to  accept  Eoswell  Holmes,  with  his  wealth,  education, 
and  undoubted  high  character.  A  second  lieutenant 
in  the  army  was  all  very  well  for  a  girl  who  could 
do  no  better,  but  Elinor  Bayard  was  of  excellent 
social  position  herself.  Her  mother's  people  ranked 
with  the  best  in  the  land,  and  her  father,  despite  his 
galanterie,  was  a  man  distinguished  in  his  profession 
and  in  society.  It  was  driving  McLean  wellnigh 
desperate.  Not  one  word  of  love-making  had  been 
breathed  between  him  and  the  gentle  girl  who  so  en 
joyed  her  walks  and  rides  with  him,  but  he  knew 


92  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

• 

well  that  her  woman's  heart  must  have  told  her  ere 
this  how  dear  she  was  to  him,  and  it  was  no  egotism 
or  conceit  that  prompted  him  to  the  belief  that  she 
would  not  show  such  pleasure  in  his  coming  if  he 
were  utterly  indifferent  to  her.  Coquetry  was  some 
thing  Nellie  Bayard  seemed  deficient  in ;  she  was 
frank  and  truthful  in  every  look  and  word. 

And  yet,  realizing  what  grounds  he  had  for  hope, 
McLean  was  utterly  downcast  when  he  faced  the 
situation  before  him.  It  would  take  him  a  year — 
with  the  utmost  economy  he  could  command — to 
pay  off  the  load  that  had  been  so  ruthlessly  heaped 
upon  him.  He  realized  that  so  long  as  he  owed  a 
penny  in  the  world  he  had  no  right  to  ask  any 
woman  to  be  his  wife.  Meantime,  here  was  this 
wealthy,  well-educated,  well-preserved  man  of  af 
fairs  ready  and  eager  to  lay  his  name  and  fortune 
at  her  feet.  What  mattered  it  that  he  was  probably 
more  than  double  her  age?  Had  McLean  not  read 
of  maidens  who  worshipped  men  of  more  than  twice 
their  years  even  to  the  extent  of — "A  love  that  was 
her  doom?"  Had  he  not  read  aloud  to  her  only  a 
fortnight  before  the  story  of  Launcelot  and  the  lily 
maid  of  Astolat?  Poor  fellow!  In  bitterness  of 
spirit  he  believed  that  in  the  last  few  days  she  had 
purposely  avoided  him,  and  had  treated  him  with 
coldness  on  the  few  occasions  when  they  met;  and 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  93 

now  he  had  sought  this  perilous  duty  eagerly  and 
avowedly ;  he  had  set  forth  without  so  much  as  a 
word  of  farewell  to  her  or  a  touch  of  her  trembling: 

o 

little  hand,  affecting  to  be  so  occupied  in  preparation 
up  to  the  instant  of  starting  that  he  had  no  time 
for  a  word  with  anybody.  And  yet  Mrs.  Miller 
had  called  him  aside  and  spoken  to  him  as  the 
group  of  officers  and  ladies  gathered  near  the  Lara- 
mie  bridge  to  see  the  little  column  start,  and  Nellie 
Bayard  had  looked  up  wistfully  at  him  as  he  rode 
by  their  party,  merely  waving  his  scouting-hat  in 
general  salutation.  It  hurt  her  sorely  that  he  should 
have  gone  without  one  word  for  her, — and  yet  she 
scarce  knew  why. 

And  now  here  they  were,  squarely  across  the  Indian 
trail,  and  ready  for  their  coming.  Roswell  Holmes 
could  not  have  that  distinction  at  all  events,  thought 
McLean,  as  he  tried  the  lock  and  breech-block  of 
his  rifle  to  see  that  everything  was  in  perfect  work 
ing  order.  Come  what  might, — if  it  were  only  In 
dians, — he  meant  to  make  a  record  in  this  fight 
that  any  woman  might  be  proud  of;  and  if  he  fell, 
— well,  he  wouldn't  have  to  pay  for  Sergeant  Mars- 
land's  stealings,  or  have  the  misery  of  seeing  her 
borne  off  by  Holmes's  big  bank-account,  as  she 
probably  would  be.  Poor  Mac!  He  had  yet  to 
learn  that  a  reputation  as  an  Indian-fighter  is  but 


94  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

an  ephemeral  and  unsatisfactory  asset  as  an  adjunct 
to  love-making. 

Meanwhile,  the  dawn  is  broadening ;  the  grayish 
pallor  at  the  orient  takes  on  a  warmer  tint,  and  a 
feeble  glow  of  orange  and  crimson  steals  up  the 
heavens.  The  slopes  and  swales  around  the  lonely 
outpost  grow  more  and  more  visible,  the  distant  ridge 
more  sharply  defined  against  the  southern  sky.  Off 
to  the  left,  the  eastward,  the  river  rolls  along  in  a 
silvery,  misty  gleam;  and  their  comrades,  still  shel 
tered  under  the  bluff,  are  beginning  to  gather  around 
the  horses  and  look  to  the  bridles  and  "cinchas." 
Now  the  red  blush  deepens  and  extends  along  the 
low  hill-tops  across  the  Platte,  and  tinges  the  rolling 
prairie  to  the  south  and  west.  A  few  minutes  more 
and  the  glow  is  strong  enough  to  reveal  an  old  but 
well-defined  trail  leading  from  the  distant  ridge 
straight  up  to  the  little  crest  where  McLean  is 
lying.  It  seems  to  follow  a  south-westerly  course, 
and  is  the  trail,  beyond  doubt,  along  which  the  ma 
rauders  from  the  reservations  have  time  and  again 
recrossed  with  their  plunder  and  gained  the  official 
shelter  of  those  sacred  limits. 

"Why,  sir/'  says  Corporal  Connor,  who  is  lying 
there  beside  the  young  officer,  "last  October  a  party 
came  over  and  scalped  two  women  and  three  team 
sters  not  three  miles  from  the  post,  and  ran  off  with 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  95 

all  their  cattle.  We  caught  up  with  them  just  across 
the  Niobrara,  and  they  dropped  the  mules  and  horses 
they  were  driving  and  made  a  run  for  it.  We  chased 
and  gained  on  them  every  inch  of  the  way,  but  they 
got  to  the  lines  first,  and  then  they  just  whirled  about 
and  jeered  at  us  and  shook  the  scalps  in  our  faces, 
and  called  us  every  name  you  could  think  of, — in 
good  English,  too,"  added  the  trooper  seriously ;  "  and 
the  lieutenant  and  I  rode  to  the  agency  and  pointed 
out  two  of  them  to  the  agent  that  very  day,  but  he 
didn't  dare  arrest  them.  His  life  depended  on  his 
standing  by  them  through  thick  and  thin.  Look, 
lieutenant !  Look  off  there !" 

Over  to  the  southwest,  dimly  visible,  three  or  four 
shadowy  objects  are  darting  rapidly  over  the  distant 
ridge  that  spans  the  horizon  in  that  direction.  For 
one  moment  only  they  are  revealed  against  the  sky, 
then  can  be  seen,  faint  as  far-away  cloud-shadows, 
sweeping  down  into  the  shallow  valley  and  making 
for  the  river  above  the  position  of  the  outpost.  In 
dians,  beyond  question!  the  advance  guard  of  the 
main  body ;  and  the  time  for  action  has  come. 

Instead  of  riding  toward  them,  however, — instead 
of  approaching  the  ford  by  the  most  direct  line, — 
these  scouts  are  loping  northward  from  the  point 
where  the  trail  crosses  the  ridge,  and  pushing  for 
the  stream.  McLean  sees  their  object  with  the  quick- 


96  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

ness  of  thought.  Tis  not  that  they  have  made  a 
"dry  camp"  during  the  night,  and  are  in  haste  to 
get  to  water  with  their  ponies.  He  knows  well  that 
in  several  of  the  ravines  and  "  coulies"  on  their  line 
of  march  there  is  abundant  water  at  this  season  of 
the  year.  He  knows  well  that  not  until  they  had 
crept  up  to  and  cautiously  peered  over  that  ridge, 
without  showing  so  much  as  a  feather  of  their  war- 
bonnets,  would  they  venture  so  boldly  down  into  the 
"  swale."  He  knows  well  that  both  in  front  and  rear 
they  are  watching  for  the  coming  of  cavalry,  and  that 
now  they  are  dashing  over  to  the  Platte  to  peer  across 
the  skirting  bluffs  until  satisfied  no  foeman  is  near, 
then  to  scurry  down  into  the  bottom  to  search  for 
hoof-prints.  If  they  find  the  well-known  trail  of 
shod  horses  in  column  of  twos,  it  will  tell  them  be 
yond  shadow  of  doubt  that  troops  are  already  guard 
ing  the  ford.  "  Confound  it !"  he  exclaims.  "  Why 
didn't  we  think  of  it  last  night,  and  come  down  the 
other  side?  We  could  just  as  well  have  crossed  the 
Platte  on  the  engineer  bridge,  and  then  they  couldn't 
have  spotted  us.  Now  it's  too  late.  Run  back,  cor 
poral,  and  warn  the  captain.  I'll  stay  here  and  watch 
them." 

Connor  speeds  briskly  down  the  slope,  and,  even  as 
they  see  him  coming,  the  men  lead  their  horses  into 
line.  Captain  Terry  has  one  foot  in  the  stirrup  as  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  97 

non-commissioned  officer  reaches  him  and  his  hand 
goes  up  in  salute. 

l<  Lieutenant  McLean's  compliments,  sir"  (the  in 
variable  formula  in  garrison,  and  not  omitted  in  the 
field  by  soldiers  as  precise  as  the  corporal).  "  Three 
or  four  bucks  are  galloping  over  to  the  river  above  us 
to  look  for  our  tracks." 

"  How  far  above  us,  corporal  ?" 

"Nigh  on  to  a  mile,  sir." 

"Sergeant  Wallace,  stay  here  with  the  platoon. 
Mount,  you  six  men  on  the  right,  and  come  after  me 
as  quick  as  you  can  !"  And  away  goes  Captain  Terry, 
fall  speed  up  the  valley  and  heading  close  under  the 
bluffs.  In  a  minute  three  of  the  designated  troopers 
are  in  a  bunch  at  his  heels,  the  other  three  scattered 
along  the  trail.  From  McLean's  post  he  can  see  both 
parties  in  the  gathering  light, — the  Indians,  slowly  and 
cautiously  now,  beginning  the  ascent  to  the  bluffs,  the 
captain  and  his  men  "  speeding  it"  to  get  first  to  the 
scene.  Another  moment,  and  he  sees  Terry  spring 
from  his  horse,  throw  the  reins  to  a  trooper,  and  run 
crouching  up  toward  the  crest;  then,  on  hands  and 
knees,  peep  cautiously  over,  removing  his  hat  as  he 
does  so.  Then  he  signals  "  forward"  to  his  men,  slides 
backward  a  yard  or  two,  runs  to  his  horse,  mounts,  gal 
lops  some  four  hundred  yards  farther  along  the  foot  of 
the  slope,  then  turns,  rides  half-way  up,  and  then  he 
E  g  9 


98  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

and  four  of  the  men  leap  from  their  saddles,  toss  their 
reins  to  the  two  who  remain  mounted,  and,  carbine  in 
hand,  run  nimbly  up  the  bluffs  and  throw  themselves 
prone  upon  the  turf,  almost  at  the  top.  Not  two  hun 
dred  yards  away  from  them  four  Sioux  warriors,  with 
trailing  war-bonnets  and  brilliant  display  of  paint  and 
glitter,  are  "  opening  out"  as  they  approach,  and  warily 
moving  toward  the  summit.  One  instant  more  and 
there  is  a  sudden  flash  of  fire-arms  at  the  crest ;  five 
jets  of  bluish  smoke  puff  out  upon  the  rising  breeze ; 
five  sputtering  reports  come  sailing  down  the  wind  a 
few  seconds  later ;  and,  while  two  of  the  warriors  go 
whirling  off  in  a  wide,  sweeping  circle,  the  other  two 
are  victims  to  their  own  unusual  recklessness.  One  of 
them,  clinging  desperately  to  the  high  pommel,  but 
reeling  in  his  saddle,  urges  his  willing  pony  down  the 
slope ;  the  other  has  plunged  forward  and  lies  stone- 
dead  upon  the  sward.  Even  at  the  echo  of  the  car 
bines,  however,  popping  up  from  across  the  ridge  a 
mile  away,  there  come  whirling  into  view  a  score  of 
red  and  glittering  horsemen,  sweeping  down  in  broad, 
fan-shaped  course,  at  top  speed  of  their  racing  ponies, 
yelling  like  mad,  and  lashing  their  nimble  steeds  to 
the  rescue.  Two  minutes  of  that  gait,  and  the  cap 
tain  and  his  little  squad  will  be  surrounded. 

"  Mount !    mount !"    shouts   McLean,  as   he   turns 
and   rushes  down  the  slope,  followed  by  his  picket- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  99 

guard.  "  Lively  now,  sergeant.  Run  to  the  captain. 
Don't  wait  for  me !" 

"  Come  on,  all  you  fellers !"  is  Sergeant  Wallace's 
characteristic  rallying  cry;  and  away  goes  the  little 
troop,  like  a  flock  of  quail.  McLean  is  in  the  saddle 
in  an  instant,  and  full  tilt  in  pursuit. 

Not  a  moment  too  soon !  Even  before  the  leading 
troopers  have  reached  the  two  "horse-holders"  under 
the  bluifs,  both  above  and  below  the  captain's  position, 
the  plumed  and  painted  warriors  have  flashed  up  on 
the  ridge  and  taken  him  in  flank.  Without  the 
prompt  aid  of  his  men  he  would  be  surrounded  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Already  these  daring  flankers 
have  opened  fire  on  the  knot  of  horsemen,  when  Mc 
Lean  shouts  to  some  of  the  rearmost  to  follow  him, 
and  veering  to  the  left  he  rides  straight  at  the  Indians 
who  have  appeared  nearest  him  along  the  bluifs.  Two 
of  the  troopers  follow  unhesitatingly ;  others  sheer  off 
toward  their  main  body.  There's  too  much  risk  in 
darting  right  into  the  teeth  of  a  pack  of  mounted 
Sioux,  even  to  follow  an  officer.  Wary  and  watchful 
the  Indians  mark  his  corning.  Circling  out  to  right 
and  left  they  propose  to  let  him  in,  then  follow  their 
old  tactics  of  a  surround.  He  never  heeds  their  ma 
noeuvres  ;  his  aim  is  to  get  to  close  quarters  with  any 
one  of  them  and  fight  it  out,  as  Highland  chieftains 
fought  in  the  old,  old  days  of  target  and  claymore. 


100  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

He  never  heeds  the  whistle  of  the  bullets  past  his 
ears  as  one  after  another  the  nearest  Indians  take 
hurried  shots  at  him.  Straight  as  a  dart  he  flies  at  a 
tall  savage  who  pops  up  on  the  ridge  in  front  of  him. 
The  long  Springfield  is  slung  now,  and  he  grasps  the 
gleaming  revolver  in  his  hand.  Twice  the  Indian 
fires,  the  lever  of  his  Henry  rifle  working  like  mad, 
but  the  bullets  whiz  harmlessly  by;  then,  with  no 
time  to  reload,  and  dreading  the  coming  shock,  he 
ducks  quickly  over  his  nimble  piebald's  neck  and 
strives  to  lash  him  out  of  the  way,  just  as  the  young 
officer  from  some  other  hand 

Keceives  but  recks  not  of  a  wound, 

and  then  troop-horse,  pony,  soldier,  and  savage  are 
rolling  in  a  confused  heap  upon  the  turf.  The  Indian 
is  the  first  on  his  feet  and  limping  away ;  no  redskin 
willingly  faces  white  man  "steel  to  steel."  McLean 
staggers  painfully  to  his  knees,  brushes  dust  and  clods 
from  his  blinded  eyes  with  one  quick  dash  of  his 
sleeve,  and  draws  a  bead  on  his  red  antagonist  just  as 
the  latter  turns  to  aim;  there  is  a  sudden  flash  and 
report,  and  the  Sioux  throws  up  his  hands  with  one 
yell  and  tumbles  headlong.  Then  a  mist  seems  rising 
before  the  young  soldier's  eyes,  the  earth  begins  to 
reel  and  swim  and  whirl,  and  then  all  grows  dark, 
and  he,  too,  is  prostrate  on  the  sward. 


viir.'1 


THEY  were  having  an  anxious  day  of  it  at  Laramie. 
Early  in  the  morning  a  brace  of  ranchmen,  still  a-trem- 
ble  from  their  experiences  of  the  night,  made  their  way 
into  the  post  and  told  gruesome  stories  of  the  doings 
of  the  Indians  at  Eagle's  Nest  and  beyond.  The 
Cheyenne  stage,  they  said,  was  "jumped,"  the  driver 
killed,  and  the  load  of  passengers  burned  alive  in  the 
vehicle  itself.  There  might  have  been  only  fifty 
warriors  when  they  fought  Lieutenant  Blunt  and  his 
party  in  the  Chug  Valley,  but  they  must  have  been 
heavily  re-enforced,  for  there  were  two  hundred  of 
them  at  the  least  count  when  they  swept  down  upon 
the  little  party  of  heroes  at  the  stage  station.  They 
fought  them  like  tigers,  said  the  ranchmen,  but  they 
would  probably  have  burned  the  building  over  their 
heads  and  "  roasted  the  whole  outfit"  had  it  not  been 
that  the  coming  of  the  stage  had  diverted  their  atten 
tion.  These  were  the  stories  with  which  the  two 
worthies  had  entertained  the  guard  and  other  early 
risers  pending  the  appearance  of  the  commanding 
officer ;  and  these  were  the  stories  that,  in  added 
horrors  and  embellishments,  spread  throughout  the 
garrison,  through  kitchen  to  breakfast- room,  as  the 

9*  101 


102  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

little  community  began  to  make  its  appearance  down 
stairs:  Major'  Milter,  a  veteran  on  the  frontier,  had 
taken  the  measure  of'irfs  informants  in  a  very  brief 
interview.'  Ar6used  by  the  summons  of  Lieutenant 
Hatton,  to  whom  as  officer  of  the  day  the  guard  had 
first  conducted  these  harbingers  of  woe,  the  major  had 
shuffled  down-stairs  in  shooting-jacket  and  slippers, 
and  cross-examined  them  in  his  dining-room.  Both 
men  looked  wistfully  at  the  brimming  decanter  on  his 
sideboard,  and  one  of  them  "  allowed"  he  never  felt 
so  used  up  in  his  life ;  so  the  kind-hearted  post  com 
mander  lugged  forth  a  demijohn  and  poured  out  two 
stiff  noggins  of  whiskey,  refreshed  by  which  they 
retold  their  tale.  Miller  "gave  them  the  rein7'  for 
five  minutes  and  then  cross-questioned,  as  a  result  of 
which  proceeding  he  soon  dismissed  them  to  the  bar 
racks  and  breakfast,  and  announced  to  Hatton  and  the 
adjutant  that  there  would  be  no  change  in  the  orders, 
— he  didn't  believe  one-fourth  of  their  story.  The 
stage,  he  said,  wasn't  due  at  Eagle's  Nest  until  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  these  men  had  declared  it 
burned  at  three.  It  was  utterly  improbable  that  it 
came  farther  than  Phillips's  crossing  of  the  Chug- 
water,  where  it  was  due  at  midnight,  and  where  long 
before  that  time  all  the  hands  at  the  station  had  been 
warned,  both  by  couriers  and  fugitives,  that  the  In 
dians  were  swarming  up  the  valley.  They  had  cut 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  1Q3 

the  telegraph-wire,  of  course,  on  striking  the  road, 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  it  was  impossible  to  tell 
just  how  things  had  been  going;  but  he  was  willing 
to  bet  that  the  stage  was  safe,  despite  the  asser 
tions  of  the  ranchmen  that  they  had  seen  the  blaze 
and  heard  the  appalling  shrieks  of  the  victims.  The 
major's  confidence,  however,  could  not  be  shared  by  the 
dozen  houses  full  of  women  and  children  whose  closest 
protectors  were  far  away  on  the  fields  where  duty 
called  them.  Laramie  was  filled  with  white,  horror- 
stricken  faces  and  anxious  eyes,  as  the  ladies  flitted 
from  door  to  door  before  the  call  for  guard-mounting, 
and  "  boomed"  the  panic-stricken  ranchmen's  story 
until  it  reached  the  proportions  of  a  wholesale  mas 
sacre  and  an  immediately  impending  siege  of  the  fort 
by  Red  Cloud  and  all  his  band.  "Women  recalled  the 
fearful  scene  at  Fort  Phil  Kearney  in  1866,  when  the 
same  old  chieftain,  Mach-pe-a-lo-ta,  surrounded  with  a 
thousand  warriors  the  little  detachment  of  three  com 
panies  and  butchered  them  within  rifle  range  of  the 
trembling  wives  and  children  at  the  post ;  and  so  by 
the  time  the  story  reached  the  doctor's  kitchen  it  had 
assumed  the  dimensions  of  a  colossal  tragedy.  They 
were  just  gathering  in  the  breakfast-room, — Nellie  a 
trifle  pale  and  weary-looking,  the  doctor  and  Holmes 
a  bit  the  worse  for  having  sat  up  so  late  and  smoked 
so  many  cigars,  but  disposed  to  be  jovial  and  youthful 


104  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

for  all  that.  Coffee  was  not  on  the  table,  and  Robert 
.  failed  to  respond  to  the  tinkling  of  the  little  silver 
bell.  Then  sounds  of  woe  and  lamentation  were 
heard  in  the  rear,  and  the  doctor  impatiently  strode 
to  the  door  and  shouted  for  his  domestics.  Kobert 
responded,  his  kinky  wool  bristling  as  though  electri 
fied  and  his  eyes  fairly  starting  from  their  sockets; 
he  was  trembling  from  head  to  foot. 

"What's  the  matter,  you  rascal,  and  why  do  you 
not  answer  the  bell?"  angrily  demanded  his  master. 

But  it  was  "the  Johnsons'  Winnie"  who  responded. 
She  had  doubtless  been  going  the  rounds,  and  was 
only  waiting  for  another  chance  to  make  a  dramatic 
coup.  Rushing  through  the  kitchen,  she  precipitated 
herself  into  the  breakfast-room.  "Oh,  Miss  Nellie," 
she  sobbed,  "there's  drefful  news.  The  Indians 
burned  the  stage  with  everybody  in  it,  and  they've 
shot  Captain  Terry  and  Mr.  McLean  an'  all  the 
soldiers  with  'em,  an' " 

"Silence,  you  babbling  idiot!"  shouted  Dr.  Bayard. 
"Stop  your  fool  stories,  or  I'll " 

"But  it's  God's  truth,  doctor.  It's  God's  truth," 
protested  Winnie,  desperately  determined  to  be  de 
frauded  of  no  part  of  her  morning's  sensation.  "Ask 
anybody.  Ask  the  sergeant  of  the  guard.  Yo'  can 
see  the  men  what  brought  the  news  yo'self." 

"Pardon  me,  doctor,"  interrupted  Mr.  Holmes,  in 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  1Q5 

calm,  quiet  tones.  "This  has  been  too  much  of  a 
shock  for  Miss  Bayard,  I  fear."  And  already  he  was 
by  her  side,  holding  a  glass  of  water  to  her  pallid  lips. 
The  doctor  pointed  to  the  door. 

"  Leave  the  room,  you  pestilence  in  petticoats !"  he 
ordered.  "Go!"  And,  having  accomplished  her 
desire  to  create  a  sensation,  though  balked  of  the  full 
fruition  of  the  promised  enjoyment,  Winnie  flew  to 
"Bedlam,"  where  she  only  prayed  that  Celestine 
might  not" be  before  her  with  the  news.  Meantime, 
Dr.  Bayard  had  turned  to  his  daughter.  His  first 
impulse  was  to  reprove  her  for  her  ready  credence 
of  the  story  set  afloat  by  so  notorious  a  gabbler  as 
the  Johnsons'  "second  girl."  One  glance  at  Elinor's 
pale  features  and  drooping  mien  changed  his  disposi 
tion  in  a  trice.  Anxiously  he  stepped  to  her  side,  and 
his  practised  hand  was  at  her  pulse  before  a  word  of 
question  was  uttered.  Then  he  gently  raised  her 
head. 

"  Look  up,  daughter !  Why,  my  little  girl,  this 
will  never  do  !  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  this  absurd 
story,  and  you  must  not  let  yourself  be  alarmed  by 
such  fanciful  pictures.  Come,  dear !  Mr.  Holmes 
will  excuse  you  this  morning.  Let  me  get  you  to 
your  room.  Will  you  kindly  touch  that  bell,  Holmes, 
and  send  Chloe  to  me?  I'll  rejoin  you  in  a  moment. 
Come,  Nell?" 


106  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

And  half  leading,  half  carrying,  he  guided  her 
from  the  room  and  up  the  stairs,  while  Holmes,  with 
grave  and  thoughtful  face,  stood  gazing  after  them. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  doctor  reappeared,  even 
after  Chloe  joined  him  in  the  chamber  of  her  young 
mistress.  When  he  did  the  breakfast  was  cold,  and 
both  men  were  too  anxious  to  get  the  true  story  to 
care  whether  they  breakfasted  or  not.  Each  took  a 
swallow  of  coffee,  then  hastened  forth. 

"  That  poor  little  girl  of  mine  !"  said  Dr.  Bayard. 
"She  has  a  very  nervous,  sensitive  organization,  and 
such  a  shock  as  that  fool  of  a  wench  gave  her  this 
morning  is  apt  to  upset  her  completely.  Now,  she  has 
no  especial  interest  in  any  of  Terry's  party,  and  yet 
you  might  suppose  her  own  kith  and  kin  had  been 
scalped  and  tortured.57 

But  Holmes  would  not  reply. 

Meantime,  Winnie  had  reached  "Bedlam,"  where, 
to  her  disgust,  Celestine  had  already  broached  the 
tidings  to  the  breakfast-table,  and  Mrs.  Forrest  had 
been  borne  half  fainting  to  her  room.  Pale,  but 
calm  and  collected,  Miss  Forrest  returned  and  began 
questioning  the  girl  as  to  the  sources  of  her  informa 
tion,  and  it  was  on  hearing  this  colloquy  that  Winnie 
took  heart  of  grace  and  impulsively  sprang  up  the 
steps  into  the  hall-way  to  add  her  share  to  the  general 
sensation.  It  was  with  a  feeling  bordering  on  exulta- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  1Q7 

tion  that  she  found  the  local  account  to  be  lacking  in 
several  of  the  most  startling  and  dramatic  particulars. 
Celestine  had  not  heard  of  the  massacre  of  Captain 
Terry's  command,  and  it  was  her  own  proud  privilege 
to  break  the  news  to  Miss  Forrest.  Here,  however, 
she  overshot  the  mark,  for  that  young  lady  looked 
determinedly  incredulous,  dismissed  her  colored  in 
formant  as  no  longer  worthy  of  consideration,  and, 
taking  a  light  wrap  from  the  hat-rack  in  the  hall, 
tapped  at  Mrs.  Post's  door. 

"  Will  you  kindly  look  after  Mrs.  Forrest  a  moment 
in  case  she  should  need  anything?  I  will  go  to  Major 
Miller's  and  investigate  these  stories.  They  seem 
absurd." 

And  with  that  she  sped  swiftly  around  the  parade, 
along  the  broad  walk,  and  was  quickly  at  the  major's 
door  and  ushered  into  the  parlor.  There  were  Dr. 
Bayard  and  Mr.  Holmes  in  earnest  talk  with  the 
commanding  officer.  All  three  arose  and  greeted  her 
with  marked  courtesy. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  my  wife  is  not  here  to  welcome 
you,  Miss  Forrest,"  said  the  major,  "  but  with  the 
exception  of  her  and  yourself  the  entire  feminine 
element  of  this  garrison  is  stampeded  this  morning ; 
the  women  have  frightened  themselves  out  of  their 
senses.  Have  you  come  for  Dr.  Bayard?  I  hope 
Mrs.  Forrest  has  not  collapsed,  as  Mrs.  Gordon  has. 


108  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Mrs.  Miller  has  gone  to  pull  her  out  of  a  fit  of 
hysterics." 

"  Mrs.  Forrest  will  need  nothing  more,  I  think,  than 
an  assurance  that  there  is  little  truth  in  these  stories." 

"  Upon  my  word,  Miss  Forrest,  I  believe  they 
are  as  groundless  as — other  sensational  yarns  that 
have  come  to  my  ears.  Two  badly-scared  ranchmen 
are  responsible  for  kindling  the  fire,  but  the  nurse 
maids  and  cooks  have  fanned  it  into  a  Chicago  con 
flagration.  The  Indians  may  have  built  a  fire  down 
the  road  beyond  Eagle's  Nest,  but  I'll  bet  it  wasn't 
the  stage.  And  as  for  Terry  and  McLean,  we  haven't 
a  word  of  any  kind  from  them.  That  story  is  built 
out  of  wind." 

"  Then  will  you  pardon  me,  Dr.  Bayard,  if  I  sug 
gest  that  it  might  be  well  if  some  one  in  authority 
were  to  warn  the  hospital  nurse  who  is  with  Mr. 
Blunt,  to  be  sure  and  let  no  one  approach  him  with 
such  news  as  has  been  flying  around  the  post?  I 
fear  he  had  a  restless  night." 

"A  most  thoughtful  suggestion,  my  dear  young 
lady,  and,  if  you  are  going  home,  I  will  escort  you, 
and  then  go  to  Blunt  at  once.  May  I  have  that 
pleasure  ?" 

"I — had  hoped  to  see  Mrs.  Miller,  doctor,  and 
think  I  will  go  to  the  east  side  a  moment  and  in 
quire  for  Mrs.  Gordon." 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  1Q9 

"By  all  means,  Miss  Forrest,  and  so  will  I,"  an 
swered  Bayard,  bowing  magnificently.  "  You  will 
excuse  me,  Mr.  Holmes?  I  will  be  home  in  a  quarter 
of  an  hour." 

"  Certainly,  doctor,  certainly,"  was  the  prompt  re 
ply,  and  both  Major  Miller  and  Mr.  Holmes  fol 
lowed  the  two  out  upon  the  piazza  and  stood  watching 
them  as  they  walked  away. 

"A  singularly  handsome  and  self-possessed  young 
woman  that,  Mr.  Holmes !"  remarked  the  major. 
"  JSTow,  there's  the  sort  of  girl  to  marry  in  the  army. 
She  has  nerve  and  courage  and  brains.  By  Jove  ! 
That's  one  reason,  I  suppose,  the  women  don't  like 
her !" 

"And  they  do  not  like  her?"  queried  Holmes. 

"Can't  bear  her,  I  judge,  from  what  I  hear.  She 
dresses  so  handsomely,  they  say,  that  she's  an  object 
of  boundless  interest  to  them, — like  or  no  like." 

"Our  friend  the  doctor  seems  decidedly  an  ardent 
admirer.  He  was  showing  himself  off  in  most  bril 
liant  colors  last  night,  and  evidently  for  her  benefit." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  rather  fancied  as  much.  They  would 
make  a  very  distinguished  couple,"  said  the  colonel, 
reflectively,  "and  no  bad  match,  despite  the  disparity 
in  years.  She  refused  two  youngsters  up  at  Red 
Cloud  who  were  ready  to  cut  each  other's  throats  on 
her  account.  That's  one  reason  I  admire  her  sense. 

10 


110  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

The  idea  of  a  woman  like  that,  or  any  woman,  mar 
rying  a  second  lieutenant!" 

"You  waited  for  your  ' double  bars/  major?" 
smilingly  queried  Mr.  Holmes. 

"Oh,  Lord,  no!"  laughed  Miller.  "Like  most 
people  who  preach,  I'm  past  the  practising  age.  I 
was  married  on  my  graduation  leave, — but  things 
were  different  before  the  war.  Army  people  didn't 
live  in  the  style  they  put  on  now.  Our  wives  were 
content  with  two  rooms  and  a  kitchen,  a  thousand  a 
year,  and  one  new  dress  at  Christmas.  Now !"  but 
the  major  stopped  short,  words  failing  him  in  the 
contemplation  of  mightiness  as  shown  in  the  contrast. 

"I'm  no  great  judge  of  women,"  said  Holmes, 
presently,  "but  that  young  lady  roused  my  interest 
last  night.  Are  there  any  tangible  reasons  why  they 
should  give  her  the  cold  shoulder?" 

Miller  colored  in  the  effort  to  appear  at  ease. 

"  None  that  I  have  any  personal  knowledge  of  or 
feel  like  treating  with  respect.  There's  no  accounting 
for  women's  whims,"  he  added,  sententiously.  "  Ju 
piter!  Here  it  is  nine  o'clock,  and  nothing  done 
yet.  I  can't  telegraph,  for  they've  cut  the  wires. 
I've  sent  out  scouts,  but  it  may  be  noon  before  they'll 
get  back.  Meantime,  we  have  to  sit  here  with  our 
hands  tied,  and  the  devil  to  pay  generally  in  garri 
son.  Ah !  there  go  the  doctor  and  Miss  Forrest 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

over  to  ( Bedlam.'  Isn't  he  a  magnificent  old  cock? 
Just  see  him  court  her!  Will  you  come  with  me  to 
the  office?" 

"I  believe  not,  major.  I  think  I'll  walk  around 
a  little.  I'm  a  trifle  fidgety  myself  this  morning, 
and  eager  for  reliable  news.  There's  no  objection,  is 
there,  to  my  going  down  to  the  barracks  and  inter 
viewing  those  ranchmen?  You  know  I'm  some 
thing  of  a  i  cow-puncher'  myself,  and  may  be  able 
to  squeeze  some  grain  of  truth  out  of  them." 

"No,  indeed!  Go  ahead,  Mr.  Holmes,  and  if  you 
extract  anything  veritable  let  me  know." 

Passing  Bedlam,  Mr.  Holmes  glanced  up  at  the 
open  gallery  where  the  hospital  attendant  happened 
to  be  standing.  The  doctor  had  entered  the  other 
hall  with  Miss  Forrest,  and  was  doubtless  majesti 
cally  ministering  to  the  nervous  ailments  of  her 
sister-in-law. 

"How  is  Lieutenant  Blunt  this  morning?"  he 
asked. 

"  He  had  a  hard  night,  sir,"  was  the  low-toned 
answer.  "He  was  in  a  high  fever  much  of  the 
time,  but  he  seems  sleeping  now.  Is  there  any  fur 
ther  news,  Mr.  Holmes?" 

"There  is  no  truth  in  the  news  you  have  heard, 
if  you  have  been  afflicted  with  the  stories  sent  around 
the  post  this  morning.  Be  sure  and  keep  every- 


112  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

thing  of  the  kind  from  Mr.  Blunt.  Here!  Can 
you  catch?"  And  fumbling  in  his  waistcoat-pocket, 
he  fetched  out  a  glittering  gold  piece  and  tossed  it 
deftly  to  the  gallery.  It  fell  upon  the  boards  with 
a  musical  ring,  and  was  quickly  pounced  upon  by 
the  man,  who  blushed  and  grinned  awkwardly. 

"  I  don't  like  to  take  this,  sir,"  he  said.  "  It's  five 
dollars." 

"Never  mind  what  it  is!  It's  worth  a  thousand 
times  its  weight  if  you  keep  all  such  yarns  from 
the  lieutenant. — Oh !  Good-morning,  Mr.  Hatton  ! 
I  thought  your  rooms  were  up-stairs,"  he  said,  as  at 
that  moment  the  infantryman  stepped  forth  from  the 
lower  hall. 

"  They  are,  Mr.  Holmes,  but  I  have  taken  up  my 
quarters  temporarily  in  McLean's,  so  as  not  to  dis 
turb  Blunt  with  the  creaking  of  those  ramshackle 
old  stairs.  What  is  Mac's  is  mine,  and  vice  versa. 
Won't  you  come  in?" 

Mr.  Holmes  hesitated  a  moment.  Then  a  sudden 
thought  struck  him.  He  sprang  lightly  up  the 
steps  and  was  'ushered  into  the  sanctum  of  the  young 
soldier,  whom  he  had  marked  the  night  before  start 
ing  upon  the  scout  with  Terry's  troopers. 

"So  this  is  McLean's  vine  and  fig-tree,  is  it?"  said 
he,  as  he  looked  curiously  around.  "  Ha  !  Lynchburg 
sun-dried,  golden  leaf !  Can  I  have  a  pipe  ?" 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  Most  assuredly  !  Excuse  me  five  minutes,  while 
I  run  over  to  the  guard-house.  Then  I'll  rejoin  you, 
and  we'll  have  a  whiff  together."  Another  moment, 
and  Mr.  Holmes  was  sole  occupant  of  the  premises. 

He  seemed  to  forget  his  desire  for  a  smoke,  and 
in  its  stead  to  become  possessed  with  a  devil  of  mild 
inquisitiveness.  After  a  rapid  glance  around  the 
front  room,  with  its  bare,  barrack-like,  soldier  fur 
nishing,  he  stepped  quickly  into  the  bed-chamber  in 
the  rear  and  went  unhesitatingly  to  the  bureau.  The 
upper  drawer  came  out  grudgingly  and  with  much 
jar  and  friction,  as  the  drawers  of  frontier  furniture 
are  apt  to  do  even  at  their  best,  but  his  firm  hand 
speedily  reduced  it  to  subjection.  A  little  pile  of 
handkerchiefs,  neatly  folded,  stood  in  the  left-hand 
corner.  He  lifted  the  topmost,  carried  it  to  the 
window,  compared  the  embroidered  initials  with 
those  of  the  handkerchief  he  took  from  an  inside 
pocket,  scribbled  a  few  closely-written  words  on  a 
blank  card,  carefully  folded  the  handkerchief  he  had 
brought  with  him,  slipped  the  card  inside  the  folds, 
replaced  both  on  the  pile,  closed  the  drawer,  and  was 
placidly  puffing  away  at  his  pipe  when  Hatton  re 
turned. 


10* 


IX. 


LATE  that  afternoon  the  guard  caught  sight  of 
a  horseman  loping  rapidly  up  the  valley  and  head 
ing  for  the  bridge  across  the  Laramie.  Long  before 
he  reached  the  post  an  orderly  had  notified  the  com 
manding  officer  that  a  courier  was  coming, — doubt 
less  from  Captain  Terry's  party,  and  Major  Miller's 
appearance  on  his  north  piazza,  binocular  in  hand, 
and  gazing  steadfastly  over  the  distant  flats  to  the 
winding  trail  along  the  river,  was  sufficient  to  bring 
strong  representations  of  every  household  into  view, 
all  eager  to  see  what  he  was  seeing  or  to  hear  what 
he  might  know.  Mr.  Hatton  came  hurriedly  over 
from  "Bedlam,"  took  his  place  by  the  major's  side, 
and  a  peep  through  the  same  big  glasses.  Then, 
after  a  moment's  consultation,  the  two  officers  started 
down  the  steps  and  walked  briskly  past  the  quarters 
on  the  east  side,  merely  calling,  in  answer  to  the 
many  queries,  "Somebody  coming  with  news-  from 
Terry !"  and  by  the  time  they  reached  the  old  block 
house  at  the  north  end,  the  somebody  was  in  plain 
view,  urging  his  foam-flecked  and  panting  steed  to  a 
plunging  gallop  as  he  neared  the  Laramie.  The 
hoofs  thundered  across  the  rickety  wooden  bridge, 
114 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  H5 

and  the  rider  was  hailed  by  dozens  of  shrill  and 
wailing  voices  as  he  passed  the  laundresses'  quarters, 
where  the  whole  population  had  turned  out  to  de 
mand  information.  The  adjutant  had  joined  the 
commanding  officer  by  this  time,  and  several  of  the 
guard  had  come  forth,  anxious  and  eager  to  hear 
the  news.  No  man  in  the  group  could  catch  the 
reply  of  the  horseman  to  the  questioners  at  "  Suds- 
town,"  but  in  an  instant  an  Irish  wail  burst  upon 
the  ear,  and,  just  as  one  coyote  will  start  a  whole 
pack,  just  as  one  midnight  bray  will  set  in  discord 
ant  chorus  a  whole  "corral"  of  mules,  so  did  that 
one  wail  of  mourning  call  forth  an  echoing  "keen" 
from  every  Hibernian  hovel  in  all  the  little  settle 
ment,  and  in  an  instant  the  air  rang  with  unearthly 
lamentations. 

"  D those  absurd  women  !"  growled  the  major, 

fiercely,  though  his  cheek  paled  at  dread  of  the 
coming  tidings.  "They'll  have  all  the  garrison  in 
hysterics.  Here,  Hatton  !  run  down  there  and  stop 
their  infernal  noise.  There  isn't  one  in  a  dozen  of 
'em  that  has  any  idea  of  what  has  happened.  They're 
howling  on  general  principles.  What  the  devil  does 
that  man  mean  by  telling  his  news  before  he  sees 
the  commanding  officer,  anyhow  ?" 

Meantime,  straight  across  the  sandy  flats  and  up 
the  slope  canre  the  courier,  his  horse  panting  loudly. 


116  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Half-way  from  "  Sudstown"  he  was  easily  recognized, 
— Corporal  Zook,  of  "  Terry's  Grays,"  and  a  tip-top 
soldier.  Reining  in  his  horse,  throwing  the  brown 
carbine  over  his  shoulder  and  quickly  dismounting, 
he  stepped  forward  to  the  group  and,  with  the  un 
failing  salute,  handed  his  commander  a  letter. 

"How  came  you  to  tell  those  women  anything?" 
asked  Miller,  his  lips  and  hands  trembling  slightly, 
despite  his  effort  to  be  calmly  prepared  for  the  worst. 
"Don't  you  see  you've  started  the  whole  pack  of 
them  to  yowling?  I  thought  I  warned  you  never 
to  do  that  again,  when  you  came  in  with  the  news 
of  Lieutenant  Robinson's  murder." 

"The  major  did,  sir;  I  had  it  in  mind  when  I 
came  in  sight  of  those  Irishwomen  this  time,  and 
wouldn't  open  my  lips,  sir.  They  are  bound  to 
make  a  row,  whatever  happens.  I  only  shook  my 
head  at  them,  sir."  And  Corporal  Zook,  despite 
fatigue,  hard  riding,  and  dust,  appeared,  if  one  could 
judge  by  a  slight  twinkle  of  the  eye,  to  take  a  rather 
humorous  view  of  this  exposition  of  national  traits. 
Followed  by  two  or  three  of  the  guard,  Mr.  Hatton 
had  obediently  hastened  to  quell  the  tumult  of  lam 
entation,  but  by  the  time  he  reached  the  nearest 
shanty  the  infection  had  spread  throughout  the  entire 
community,  and — women  and  children  alike — the 
whole  populace  was  weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  H7 

its  teeth, — and  no  one  knew  or  cared  to  know  exactly 
why.  Having  been  wrought  up  to  a  pitch  of  excite 
ment  by  the  rumors  and  rapid  moves  of  the  past 
forty-eight  hours,  nothing  short  of  a  massacre  could 
now  quite  satisfy  Sudstown's  lust  for  the  sensational, 
and,  defrauded  of  the  actual  cause  for  universal  be 
wailing,  was  none  the  less  determined  to  indulge  in 
the  full  effect.  Poor  Hatton  had  more  than  half  an 
hour  of  stubborn  and  troublesome  work  before  he 
could  begin  to  quell  the  racket  in  the  crowded  tene 
ments,  and  meantime  there  was  mischief  to  pay  in 
the  fort.  No  sooner  did  the  Irish  wail  come  float 
ing  on  the  wind  than  the  direst  rumors  were  rushed 
from  house  to  house.  The  courier  had  barely  had 
time  to  hand  his  despatches  to  Major  Miller,  and  the 
major  had  not  had  time  to  read  them,  when  a  mes 
senger  came  post-haste  for  Dr.  Bayard,  and  stood 
trembling  and  breathless  at  his  door  while  the  punc 
tilious  old  major-domo  went  to  call  his  master. 
Holmes  was  reading  at  the  moment  in  the  doctor's 
library,  and,  at  the  sound  of  excited  voices  and  scur 
rying  footfalls  without,  came  forward  into  the  hall 
just  as  the  door  of  Nellie's  room  was  heard  to  open. 
Glancing  up,  he  caught  sight  of  her  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs, — her  hair  dishevelled  and  rippling  down 
over  her  shoulders  and  nearly  covering  the  dainty 
wrapper  she  wore. 


118  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Mr.  Holmes!  please  see  what  has  happened?" 
she  cried,  with  wild  anxiety  in  her  eyes.  "I  hear 
such  dreadful  noise,  and  see  men  running  down 
toward  the  laundresses'  quarters." 

But  there  was  no  need  for  him  to  ask.  The 
messenger  at  the  door  was  only  too  eager. 

"Oh,  Miss  Nellie!"  she  called,  sobbing,  half  in 
eagerness,  half  in  genuine  distress.  "  There's  such 
dreadful  news !  There's  a  man  come  in  from  Cap 
tain  Terry's  troop,  and  they've  had  a  terrible  fight, 
and  Mr.  McLean  an'  lots  of  'em  are  killed.  It's  all 
true,  just  as  we  heard  it  this " 

But  here  Mr.  Holmes  slammed  the  door  in  the 
foolish  creature's  face  and  went  tearing  up  the  stairs, 
four  at  a  bound,  for,  clasping  the  balusters  with 
both  her  little  hands  in  a  grasp  that  seemed  loosen 
ing  every  second,  Nellie  Bayard  was  sinking  almost 
senseless  to  the  floor.  Chloe,  too,  came  running  to 
her  aid,  and,  between  them,  they  bore  .her  to  the  sofa 
in  her  pretty  room,  and  then  the  doctor  reached 
them,  almost  rejoicing  to  find  her  in  tears,  instead  of 
the  dead  faint  he  dreaded. 

"  How  could  I  have  been  so  mad  as  to  bring  her 
to  such  a  pandemonium  as  this?"  was  his  exclama 
tion  to  Holmes  as,  a  moment  later,  they  hastened 
forth  upon  the  parade.  "  Yes,"  he  hastily  answered, 
as  a  little  boy  came  running  tearfully  to  him,  to  say 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  H9 

that  mamma  was  taken  very  ill  and  they  didn't 
know  what  to  do  for  her.  "  Yes.  So  are  all  the 
women  in  garrison,  I  doubt  not ;  though  they're  all 
scared  for  nothing,  I'll  bet  a  dinner.  Tell  mamma 
I'll  be  there  just  as  soon  as  I've  seen  Major  Miller. 
Here  he  comes  now." 

The  major,  with  his  adjutant,  and  followed  by  his 
orderly,  was  coming  rapidly  into  the  quadrangle  as 
he  spoke,  and  the  two  gentlemen  hastened  forward 
to  meet  him.  From  half  a  dozen  houses  women  or 
children  were  rushing  to  question  the  commanding 
officer  with  wild,  imploring  eyes  and  faltering  tongues. 
He  waved  his  hands  and  arms  in  energetic  gyrations 
and  warned  them  away. 

"  Go  back  !  Go  back  !  You  distracted  geese !"  he 
called.  "  It's  all  a  lie !  There's  hardly  been  a  brush 
worth  mentioning.  Terry  and  his  men  are  all  safe. 
Now,  do  stop  your  nonsense!  But  come  with  me, 
doctor,"  he  quickly  added,  in  a  lower  tone.  "  Come, 
Mr.  Holmes.  I  want  you  both  to  hear  this.  It's 

so  like  Terry.  D those  outrageous  Bridgets 

down  there!  Did  you  ever  hear  anything  like  the 
row  they  raised?  And  all  for  nothing." 

"Has  there  been  no  fight  at  all?"  asked  Dr. 
Bayard. 

"Yes, — a  pretty  lively  one,  too.  McLean  is  shot 
and  otherwise  hurt,  but  can't  be  dangerously  so,  for 


120  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

he  wanted  to  go  on  in  the  pursuit.  Three  horses 
killed  and  two  troopers  wounded;  that's  about  the 
size  of  it,  but  there's  more  to  come.  Doctor,  I  want 
two  ambulances  to  go  down  at  once,  and  will  send 
half  a  dozen  men  as  guard.  They  can  ride  in  them. 
We  have  no  more  available  troopers.  Will  you 
go  or  send  your  assistant?  You  cannot  get  there 
much  before  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  even  if  you  trot 
all  the  way.  Better  let  Dr.  Weeks  go,  don't  you 
think  so?" 

"Whichever  you  prefer,  major.  Weeks  has  been 
devoting  himself  to  Blunt,  though  of  course  I  could 
relieve  him  there.  When  could  we  get  back  ?" 

"  Not  before  noon  to-morrow.  The  wounded  are 
'way  down  at  Eoyal's  Ford,  where  Terry  had  left 
them  with  two  or  three  men,  and  pushed  on  after 
the  Indians  with  the  rest.  They  tricked  him,  I  fancy, 
and  he  isn't  in  good  humor." 

By  this  time  the  quartet  had  entered  the  office, 
and  there,  handing  the  despatch  to  his  adjutant, 
and  bidding  the  orderly  close  the  door,  the  major 
seated  himself  at  his  desk ;  invited  the  others  to  draw 
up  their  chairs ;  produced  a  map  of  the  Platte  coun 
try  and  the  trails  to  the  Sioux  Reservation  over  along 
the  White  River,  and  bade  the  adjutant  read  aloud. 
This  the  young  officer  proceeded  to  do: 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  121 

"  ON  THE  TRAIL,  NEAR  NIOBRARA,  10.30  A.M. 

"  POST  ADJUTANT,  FORT  LARAMIE  : 

aSm, — Reaching  Royal's  Ford  before  daybreak, 
we  posted  lookouts  and  headed  off  the  Indians,  who 
appeared  at  dawn.  In  the  fight  Lieutenant  McLean, 
Sergeant  Pierce,  and  Trooper  Murray  were  wounded ; 
two  Indians  killed  and  left  on  the  field;  others  wounded, 
but  carried  off.  After  skirmishing  some  time  at  long 
range,  they  drew  off,  and  were  next  seen  far  down 
the  Platte  below  the  ford.  I  started  at  once  in  pur 
suit,  but  had  gone  only  four  miles  when  we  discovered 
it  was  only  a  small  band,  and  that  the  main  body, 
with  considerable  plunder,  had  got  down  to  and  were 
crossing  the  ford.  This  led  us  to  hasten  back,  and 
we  have  kept  up  hot  pursuit  to  this  point.  Now, 
however,  the  horses  are  exhausted,  and  we  have  not 
even  gained  upon  their  fresh  ponies,  although  they 
were  forced  to  abandon  a  good  many  horses  they  were 
driving  away.  As  soon  as  our  horses  and  men  are 
rested,  I  will  start  on  return  via  the  north  bank. 
Please  send  ambulance,  etc.,  for  the  wounded. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"GEORGE  F.  TERRY, 

"  Captain  Commanding" 

To  this  military  and  matter-of-fact  correspondence 
the  auditors  listened  in  silence. 
P  11 


122  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  Not  much  about  that  to  stir  up  such  a  bobbery !" 
said  the  major,  presently. 

"How  did  you  hear  about  McLean's  wanting  to 
join  the  pursuit  ?"  inquired  Mr.  Holmes.  "  Cap 
tain  Terry  seems  to  make  rather  slight  mention  of 
him  and  the  other  wounded.  I  know  enough  of 
Indian-fighting  to  feel  sure  there  must  have  been 
some  sharp  work  when  they  leave  two  dead  on  the 
field." 

"  So  do  I,"  answered  the  major,  "  and  that  is  why 
I  inquired  of  old  Zook  for  particulars.  He  is  the 
last  man  in  the  ranks  to  be  exaggerative  or  sensa 
tional,  and  as  for  his  captain, — well,  this  despatch 
is  simply  characteristic  of  Terry.  He  has  a  horror 
of  anything  '  spread-eagle/  as  he  calls  it,  and  will 
never  praise  officers  or  men ;  says  that  it  must  be 
considered  as  a  matter  of  course  that  they  behaved 
well  and  did  their  duty.  Otherwise  he  would  be 
sure  to  prefer  charges.  Now,  Dr.  Bayard,  if  you 
will  kindly  send  for  Dr.  Weeks  I  will  give  him  his 
instructions,  and,  meantime,  will  you  make  such 
preparations  as  may  be  necessary?" 

This  the  "Chesterfield  of  the  Medical  Depart 
ment"  could  not  but  understand  as  a  hint  to  be  off, 
and  he  promptly  arose  and  signified  his  readiness  to 
carry  out  any  wishes  the  commanding  officer  might 
have.  Holmes,  too,  arose  and  started  for  the  door 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  123 

with  his  host  and  entertainer,  and,  though  the  major 
called  him  back  and  asked  if  he  would  not  remain, 
he  promptly  refused,  saying  that  he  greatly  wished 
to  accompany  the  doctor  and  see  the  preparations 
made  in  such  cases. 

But  he  tarried  only  a  few  moments  with  Bayard 
at  the  hospital,  and  when  the  doctor  strove  to  detain 
him  he  begged  to  be  excused  a  little  while.  There 
was  a  matter,  he  said,  he  wanted  to  look  into  before 
those  ambulances  started.  The  post  surgeon  gazed 
after  him  in  some  wonderment  as  the  Chicagoan 
strode  away,  and  tried  to  conjecture  what  could  be 
taking  him  back  to  the  house  at  this  moment.  Nellie 
was  not  to  be  seen,  and  he  knew  of  no  other  attrac 
tion. 

But  Mr.  Holmes  had  no  idea  of  going  to  the 
surgeon's  quarters.  Over  near  the  block-house  he 
saw  Mr.  Hatton  with  his  little  party  returning  from 
their  inglorious  mission  to  Sudstown, — the  lieutenant 
disgustedly  climbing  the  slope,  while  a  brace  of  his 
assistants,  the  guards,  were  chuckling  and  chatting  in 
a  low  tone  together,  evidently  extracting  more  amuse 
ment  from  their  recent  duty  than  did  the,  officer  of 
the  day.  Joining  Hatton  and  allaying  his  anxiety 
by  telling  him  the  particulars  of  Captain  Terry's 
despatch, — supplemented  by  the  information  that 
McLean's  injuries  were  not  considered  serious, — Mr. 


124  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Holmes  asked  permission  to  send  one  of  the  men 
in  quest  of  Zook,  with  whom  he  desired  very  much 
to  speak. 

"  He  has  gone  to  the  stable,  sir,  to  take  care  of  his 
horse,"  said  a  corporal  of  the  guard. 

"  If  you  are  in  a  hurry  to  see  him,  Mr.  Holmes, 
perhaps  the  best  way  would  be  to  go  to  the  troop 
stables.  Yonder  they  are,  down  that  slope  to  the 
north.  He  must  attend  to  his  horse, — groom  and 
care  for  him  before  he  can  leave ;  and  then,  I  fancy, 
he  will  be  mighty  glad  of  something  to  eat.  I'll 
send  for  him  if  you  wish,  and  tell  him  to  come  as 
soon  as  he's  through  his  duties.  Where  will  you 
have  him  call, — at  the  doctor's?" 

"  No,  I  believe  not.  If  it  is  all  the  same  to  you, 
would  you  mind  my  seeing  him  at  your  quarters? 
I  am  greatly  interested  in  this  scout  and  fight,  and 
want  to  get  his  story  of  the  affair.  Terry  doesn't 
tell  anything  but  the  baldest  outline." 

"  Certainly,  Mr.  Holmes.  My  room, — that  is,  Mc 
Lean's,  be  it.  The  door  is  open,  and  I'll  be  out  of 
your  way  by  that  time.  I'm  going  at  once  to  ask 
the  adjutant  to  take  my  sword,  and  get  the  major  to 
let  me  go  down  for  Mac." 

"The  ambulance  is  being  put  in  readiness  now. 
I'll  go  with  you  to  Major  Miller's.  What  time  can 
I  best  see  the  corporal?" 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  125 

"Eight  after  retreat  roll-call,  just  after  sunset,  I 
should  say.  He  would  like  time  to  spruce  up  a 
bit  aud  get  supper." 

"Then  say  nine  o'clock.  I  must  not  leave  my 
host  alone  at  the  dinner-table,  and  I  fear  Miss  Bay 
ard  will  not  be  down." 

"Is  Miss  Bayard  ill?"  asked  Mr.  Hatton. 

"  Hardly  that !  She  was  greatly  overcome  by  the 
shock  of  hearing  this  news  as  it  was  told  her.  Some 
idiot  of  a  servant  came  rushing  in,  and  said  a  courier 
was  back  from  Captain  Terry's  command  and  that 
Mr.  McLean  was  killed." 

"And  she  swooned  or  fainted?"  asked  Hatton, 
with  evident  interest. 

"Very  nearly,"  answered  Mr.  Holmes,  with  grave 
face  and  eyes  that  never  flinched.  "  I  think  she 
would  have  fallen  down  the  stairs,  had  she  not 
been  caught  in  the  nick  of  time." 

"  That  will  be  something  poor  Mac  will  hear  with 
comfort." 

"Yes,"  was  the  decided  answer,  after  an  instant 
of  silence.  "Yes.  It  would  comfort  me  if  I  were 
in  his  place.  Nine  o'clock  then,  Mr.  Hatton,  and 
at  your  quarters." 

Before  dark  the  ambulances  got  away,  Dr.  Weeks 
and  the  lieutenant  going  with  them  on  horseback. 
Cutting  short  a  post-prandial  cigar,  Mr.  Holmes 

11* 


126  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

left  the  surgeon  to  sip  his  coffee  in  solitude  when 
a  glance  at  his  watch  showed  him  that  the  hour 
of  nine  was  approaching.  Quickly  he  strode  over 
toward  "  Bedlam,"  and  sprang  up  the  low  flight  of 
steps  to  the  veranda.  To  his  surprise,  the  hall-door 
was  closed;  he  turned  the  knob,  but  there  was  no 
yielding.  Looking  in  through  the  side-lights,  he 
could  see  that  a  lamp  was  burning  on  the  second 
floor,  but  that  the  hall-lantern  below  had  either 
been  forgotten  or  its  light  extinguished.  Retracing 
his  steps,  he  decided  to  go  to  the  quartermaster  and 
ask  if  he  could  have  the  key,  but  before  he  had 
taken  thirty  strides  up  the  parade  he  remembered 
that  Hatton  had  told  him  that  the  hall-door  was 
never  locked  and  rarely  closed.  This  struck  him 
as  odd,  and  he  stopped  to  think  it  over  in  connec 
tion  with  what  he  had  just  observed.  Standing 
there  just  beyond  the  southern  end  of  the  big,  faded 
white  rookery,  invisible  himself  in  the  darkness,  he 
looked  up  at  the  lights  in  the  rooms  occupied  by  the 
Forrest  family,  and  wondered  how  the  self-possessed 
and  handsome  young  lady,  now  occasionally  alluded 
to  as  the  "Queen  of  Bedlam,"  had  borne  the  day. 
The  garrison  was  unusually  still;  not  a  sound  of 
mirth,  music,  or  laughter  came  from  the  barracks 
of  the  men ;  not  a  whisper  from  the  quarters  of  the 
officers  around  the  parade.  Somewhere,  perhaps  a 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  127 

mile  away,  out  beyond  the  rushing  Laramie,  a  dog 
or  a  coyote  was  yelping,  but  all  within  the  old  fort 
was  still  as  death.  Suddenly,  from  the  northern 
end  of  the  veranda,  there  came  the  sound  of  a  latch 
or  lock  quickly  turned,  a  light  footfall  on  the  creaking 
wooden  floor,  the  swish  and  swirl  of  silken  skirts, 
coming  toward  him  rapidly.  He  gazed  with  all 
his  eyes,  but  could  not  discern  the  advancing  figure ; 
so,  struck  by  a  sudden  impulse,  he  sprang  to  the 
veranda,  up  the  southern  steps,  and  almost  collided 
with  a  woman's  form,  scurrying  past  him  in  the 
darkness. 

"I  beg  pardon,  Miss  For "  he  began  to  say; 

but  without  a  word,  with  sudden  leap  the  slender 
shape  whisked  out  of  reach  of  voice  or  hand  and 
vanished  into  the  southern  hall-way. 


X. 


BEFORE  the  sounding  of  tattoo  that  night,  the 
stage  came  in  from  Cheyenne.  It  had  been  warned 
by  fleeing  ranchmen  of  the  presence  of  the  Sioux 
at  Eagle's  Nest,  and  had  turned  back  to  the  strong 
defences  at  "  Phillips's,"  on  the  Chug,  remaining 
there  in  security  until  the  driver  had  satisfied  him 
self  that  the  coast  was  clear.  No  passengers  came 
down  with  him,  but  he  brought  the  mail;  and,  as 
none  had  been  received  for  two  days,  and  the  wires 
were  still  down,  the  major  commanding  turned  out 
and  tramped  to  the  combined  stage-station  and  post- 
office  the  moment  he  was  notified  of  the  arrival. 
Here,  while  the  letters  and  papers  were  being  dis 
tributed,  he  was  accommodated  with  a  chair  in  Mrs. 
Griffin's  little  parlor,  and  his  own  personal  mail 
was  handed  in  to  him  as  rapidly  as  the  swift  fingers 
of  the  postmistress  could  sort  the  various  missives. 
Outside,  the  stage-driver  was  surrounded  by  a  little 
crowd  of  soldiers,  scouts,  and  teamsters,  and  held 
forth  with  frontier  descriptive  power  on  the  ad 
ventures  of  the  night  previous.  He  could  "swar" 
the  Sioux  had  burned  a  "Black  Hills  outfit"  not 
far  below  Eagle's  Nest,  for  he  had  come  far  enough 
128 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  129 

this  side  of  the  Chug  to  see  the  glare  in  the  skies, 
and  had  passed  the  charred  remnants  just  before 
sundown  this  very  evening.  He  had  heard  along 
the  road  that  there  were  anywhere  from  two  to  five 
hundred  Indians  on  the  raid;  and  Miller,  listening 
to  the  eager  talk  and  comparing  the  estimate  of  the 
ranch-people  with  the  experiences  of  his  own  cam 
paigning,  readily  made  up  his  mind  that  there  were 
probably  four  or  five  score  of  young  warriors  in  the 
party, — too  many,  with  their  magazine  rifles,  re 
volvers,  and  abundant  ammunition,  for  Terry  to 
successfully  "tackle"  with  his  little  detachment. 
The  major  rejoiced  that  the  captain  was  sensible 
enough  to  discontinue  the  pursuit  at  the  Niobrara 
crossing.  Beyond  that  there  were  numerous  ridges, 
winding  ravines,  even  a  shallow  cafion  or  two, — the 
very  places  for  ambuscade ;  and  it  would  be  an  easy 
matter  for  a  small  party  of  the  Sioux  to  drop  back 
and  give  the  pursuers  a  bloody  welcome.  No ! 
Terry  had  done  admirably  so  long  as  there  was  a 
chance  of  square  fighting,  and  his  subsequent  moves, 
barring  the  one  dash  down-stream  after  a  "fooling 
party"  while  the  main  body  slipped  across  the  ford, 
had  been  dictated  by  sound  judgment.  He  deplored 
the  crippled  and  depleted  condition  of  his  little  com 
mand,  however.  Here  was  Blunt,  one  of  his  best 
cavalry  officers,  seriously  wounded  and  in  high  fever ; 


130  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

here  was  McLean,  another  admirable  young  soldier, 
he  knew  not  how  seriously  wounded ;  and,  with  old 
Bruce  laid  up  with  rheumatism,  he  had  not  a  com 
pany  officer  for  duty  at  the  post.  The  adjutant  and 
quartermaster,  the  doctor  and  his  own  energetic  self 
were  the  only  ones  he  could  count  on  for  the  next 
twenty-four  hours,  as  belonging  to  the  garrison 
-proper.  The  infantry  battalion  that  had  camped 
down  on  the  flats  so  short  a  time  before  was  already 
beyond  his  jurisdiction,  in  march  toward  Fetterman 
up  the  Platte.  It  was  with  great  relief,  therefore, 
he  read  that  six  troops  of  the  —  th  Cavalry  had 
reached  Cheyenne,  and  were  under  orders  to  march 
to  Laramie  as  soon  as  supplied  with  ammunition 
and  equipments  for  sharp  field-service. 

Presently  he  heard  the  suave  tones  of  Dr.  Bayard 
accosting  Mrs.  Griffin  with  anxious  inquiries  for  his 
letters,  and  courteous  apologies  for  intruding  upon  her 
during  "  business  hours,"  but  he  had  been  without 
letters  or  papers  so  long  now,  had  just  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  the  stage,  Mr.  Holmes  was  visiting  him, 
and  would  she  kindly  put  any  mail  there  might  be 
for  Mr.  Holmes  in  his  box?  Mrs.  Griffin  was  quite 
as  susceptible  to  courteous  and  high-bred  and  flattering 
manners  as  any  of  her  sex,  and  to  her  thinking  no 
man  in  all  the  army  compared  with  the  post  surgeon 
in  elegance  of  deportment.  At  his  bidding  she  would 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

willingly  have  left  the  distribution  of  the  mail  to 
almost  any  hands  and  come  forth  from  behind  the 
glass  partition  to  indulge  in  a  chat  with  him.  She 
would  gladly  have  invited  him  to  step  into  the  little 
parlor,  but  the  major  was  already  there  poring  over 
his  letters,  and  she  could  not  neglect  her  official  duties 
in  the  august  presence  of  the  post  commander.  But 
Mrs.  Griffin  was  all  smiles  as  she  handed  out  the 
doctor's  partially-completed  packet,  and  then,  in  a  low 
tone,  informed  him  that  Major  Miller  was  in  the  little 
parlor  behind  the  office,  if  he  saw  fit  to  wait  there, 
and  Dr.  Bayard,  who  could  not  abide  being  jostled  by 
his  fellow-men  or  even  being  seen  among  what  he  con 
sidered  the  common  herd,  eagerly  availed  himself  of 
her  offer.  Miller  looked  up  and  greeted  him  with  a 
pleasant  nod,  and  immediately  read  to  him  the  news 
of  the  coming  of  the  cavalry  battalion  from  Cheyenne, 
then  bade  him  pull  up  a  chair  and  read  his  letters  by 
the  bright  "  astral"  burning  on  the  centre-table.  Out 
side  in  the  hall  and  corridor  in  front  of  the  dusty 
glass  partition  the  crowd  had  rapidly  increased.  Not 
one  in  a  dozen  in  the  gathering  had  the  faintest  ex 
pectation  of  getting  a  letter,  but  there  was  no  harm  in 
asking  and  much  mental  solace,  apparently,  in  culti 
vating  the  appearance  of  a  man  of  the  world  or  a  woman 
of  society  who  was  in  the  daily  habit  of  receiving  and 
responding  to  a  dozen.  And  so  teamsters,  laundresses, 


132  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

scouts,  "Indian-bound"  Black  Killers,  and  one  or 
two  sauntering  soldiers  were  swarming  about  the  porch 
and  hall-way,  and  jamming  in  a  compact  mass  in 
front  of  the  little  window  whereat  the  postmistress 
behind  her  vitreous  barrier  was  still  at  work.  It  was 
a  good-natured,  chaffing,  laughing  crowd,  but  still  one 
very  independent  and  self-satisfied,  after  the  manner 
of  the  frontier,  where  every  man  in  a  mixed  gathering 
is  as  good  as  his  neighbor,  and  every  woman  is  as  good 
as  she  chooses  to  hold  herself.  It  had  made  a  passage 
for  the  commanding  officer  and  afterward  for  the  post 
surgeon,  but  that  was  before  it  had  attained  its  present 
proportions.  Now  when  Mr.  Koswell  Holmes  paused 
at  the  outskirts  with  Corporal  Zook  by  his  side,  some 
of  the  loungers  looked  around  with  their  hands  in 
their  pockets ;  some  of  the  cowboys  who  had  earned 
their  dollars  on  his  ranch  nodded  cheerily  at  sight  of 
their  employer ;  but  this  was  the  United  States  post- 
office,  these  were  sovereign  citizens,  and  every  man  or 
woman  of  them,  except  the  half-dozen  enlisted  men 
whose  mail  was  always  taken  to  barracks,  had  just  as 
much  right  there  as  the  capitalist  from  Chicago, — and 
knew  it.  So  did  Mr.  Holmes.  He  returned  the 
greetings  as  cheerily  as  they  were  given  ;  made  no 
attempt  to  push  through,  and  probably  would  have 
remained  contentedly  until  the  crowd  dispersed  and 
let  him  in,  had  not  the  notes  of  the  infantry  bugle 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  133 

sounding  first  call  for  tattoo  summoned  Zook  and  the 
other  soldiers  to  make  their  way  to  barracks. 

"  Fm  a  thousand  times  obliged  to  you,  Corporal 
Zook,  for  all  you've  told  me,  and  I  assure  you  Fm  as 
proud  of  the  lieutenant  as  you  are.  Now,  I  may  not 
be  here  when  the  troop  gets  back  to-morrow, — I  may 
have  to  go  back  to  see  if  all  is  well  at  the  ranch ;  but 
after  their  ride  they'll  all  be  thirsty,  and  when  I'm 
very  thirsty  there's  nothing  I  like  better  than  a  glass 
of  cool  lager.  There  is  plenty  of  it  on  ice  at  the 
trader's,  and, — you  do  the  entertaining  for  me,  will 
you  ?"  And  the  corporal  found  his  palm  invaded  by 
a  fold  of  crisp  greenbacks. 

"If  it's  for  the  troop,  sir,  I  can't  say  no,"  answered 
Zook,  with  dancing  eyes.  Pay-day  was  some  weeks 
off  after  all,  and  he  knew  how  "  the  fellers"  would 
relish  the  trader's  beer.  "  Now,  if  you  would  like  to 
sit  down,  why  not  go  around  to  the  other  side  and 
away  from  this  crowd  ?  There  are  empty  benches  at 
the  stage-office.  I  must  run,  sir ;  so  good-night,  and 
many  thanks." 

The  office-window  had  just  been  thrown  open  and 
the  distribution  was  just  begun.  It  would  be  some 
time  before  his  turn  would  come.  Holmes  knew  per 
fectly  well  that,  only  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  some 
of  those  teamsters  and  scouts  would  form  a  "  queue," 
and,  with  unimpeachable  gravity,  march  up  to  the 

12 


134  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

window  and  inquire  if  there  was  anything  for  Red- 
Handed  Bill,  or  Rip-Roaring  Mike,  or  the  Hon.  G. 
Bullwhacker,  of  Laramie  Plains.  He  wanted  time  to 
think  a  bit  before  he  returned  to  the  doctor's  house, 
anyhow.  He  had  drawn  from  Corporal  Zook  a  de 
tailed  account  of  McLean's  spirited  and  soldierly  con 
duct  in  the  fight ;  learned  that  it  was  he  who  killed  the 
second  warrior  in  what  was  practically  a  hand-to-hand 
struggle,  and  that  his  wounds  were  painful  and  severe, 
despite  his  effort  to  overcome  and  hide  them  when  the 
pursuit  began.  Hatton's  remarks  had  been  echoing 
time  and  again  through  his  memory.  It  would  in 
deed  be  comfort  to  McLean  to  hear  how  shocked  and 
painfully  stricken  was  Nellie  Bayard  at  the  news  of 
the  fight  and  his  probable  death.  If  it  proved  half 
the  comfort  to  McLean  that  it  was  sorrow  to  his 
elderly  rival,  thought  Holmes  with  a  deep  sigh,  "  he'll 
soon  be  well,  and  'twill  be  high  time  for  me  to 
vanish." 

Pacing  slowly  up  the  road,  he  turned  an  angle  of 
the  old  wooden  building,  and  found  himself  alone  in 
a  broad,  square  enclosure.  The  stars  were  shining 
brightly  overhead,  but  there  was  no  moon  and  the 
darkness  in  this  nook  among  the  storehouses  and 
offices  was  simply  intense.  The  only  light  came 
through  the  slats  of  the  shutter  at  a  side-window  back 
of  the  post-office.  Merely  glancing  at  it  as  he  passed, 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  135 

Holmes  walked  on  with  bowed  head  and  hands  clasped 
behind  him,  thinking  deeply  over  the  situation.  Had 
he  come  too  late  to  win  that  sweet,  youthful,  guileless 
heart,  or  had  he  come  only  just  in  time  to  see  it  given 
to  another?  Had  he,  in  the  light  of  what  he  had 
seen  and  heard,  any  right  to  speak  of  matters  that  had 
gravely  distressed  him  ?  Was  it  his  bounden  duty  to 
disclose  certain  suspicions,  display  certain  proofs  ?  Or 
was  it  more  than  all  his,  the  man's,  part  to  stay  and 
help  to  sweep  aside  the  web  that  was  unquestionably 
weaving  about  that  brave-faced,  clear-eyed,  soldierly 
young  subaltern?  Despite  Bayard's  detractions;  de 
spite  Mrs.  Miller's  whispered  confession  that  there  was 
a  thief  in  their  midst ;  despite  the  fact  that  his  wallet 
was  stolen  from  the  overcoat-pocket  when  no  one,  to 
his  knowledge,  but  McLean  himself  had  been  there ; 
despite  the  discovery  on  the  floor — in  front  of  his 
bureau — of  a  handkerchief  embroidered  with  Mc 
Lean's  initials;  despite  the  fact  that  it  was  known 
that  he  had  been  placed  heavily  in  debt  by  the  stop 
page  of  his  pay, — Mr.  Roswell  Holmes  could  not  find 
it  in  his  heart  to  believe  that  the  young  soldier  could 
be  guilty  of  theft.  He  would  not  believe  it  of  him, 
even  as  a  rival. 

Then  there  was  another  thing.  "Who  was  the 
silken-skirted  woman  he  met  in  the  darkness  but  an 
hour  or  so  before, — the  woman  whom  he  had  at- 


136  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

tempted  to  accost,  but  who  slipped  past  him  like  a 
will-o'-the-wisp — in  silence?  How  was  it  that  the 
door  to  Hatton's  hall  was  closed  and  locked,  when 
Hatton  told  him  it  was  always  open?  Why  was  it 
that  the  light  in  that  lower  hall  was  extinguished,  and 
by  whom  was  it  done?  Had  he  not  gone  thither 
almost  immediately  after  recovering  from  the  surprise 
of  his  encounter  on  the  veranda,  and  found  the  hos 
pital  attendant  grumblingly  relighting  it?  The  man 
had  heard  some  queer,  swishing  sound,  he  explained, 
as  he  sat  by  Mr.  Blunt's  bedside,  and  "something 
that  sounded  like  drawers  being  opened  in  the  room 
below."  He  stepped  out  in  the  hall,  he  said,  just  in 
time  to  hear  the  lock  of  the  front  door  hastily  turned, 
and  somebody  go  stealthily  and  quickly  out  on  the 
veranda,  "swishing"  all  the  way.  The  ladies  had 
been  over  along  the  upper  gallery  two  or  three  times, 
to  bring  cool  drinks  to  Mr.  Blunt's  door  and  inquire 
how  he  was  getting  on, — Mrs.  Post  and  the  young 
lady,  Miss  Forrest,  he  meant, — but  they  wouldn't 
want  anything  in  Mr.  McLean's  rooms  down-stairs. 
The  man  looked  curiously  up  at  Mr.  Holmes  as  he 
told  his  tale.  Holmes  was  puzzled  too,  but  bade 
him  keep  quiet.  Some  one  of  the  servants,  perhaps, 
who  wanted  a  match,  he  suggested;  but  the  little 
soldier  shook  his  head.  Servants  didn't  wear  dresses 
that  "swished"  like  that. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  137 

The  crowd  was  beginning  to  thin  considerably,  as 
Holmes  could  tell  by  the  sound  of  receding  voices. 
He  decided  that  it  was  about  time  for  him  to  move 
and  get  his  own  mail,  when  he  became  aware  of  some 
thing  dark  and  shapeless  crouching  along  close  under 
the  post-office  end  of  the  building  and  slowly  and 
cautiously  approaching  the  window  from  which  the 
light  was  streaming.  At  first  he  thought  it  some  big 
dog  scratching  his  side  along  the  cleats  of  the  wooden 
wall,  but  as  he  stood  silently  observing  the  dim  shadow 
it  was  evident  that  no  quadruped  was  thus  warily 
creeping  toward  him.  Holmes  stood  leaning  against 
a  storehouse  platform  in  the  deepest  shade  of  an  over 
hanging  roof;  the  figure  was  perhaps  twelve  or 
thirteen  yards  away,  and,  as  it  neared  the  window,  the 
vague  outlines  of  the  mysterious  creature  became  more 
easily  discernible.  Immediately  under  the  beams  of 
light  that  shot  across  the  dark  enclosure  the  figure 
paused;  slowly  raised  itself;  a  hand  went  up  to  the 
head  and  whipped  off  a  cap  just  as  the  crown  was 
tinged  by  the  gleam  from  within.  Holmes  distinctly 
saw  the  reflection  of  the  light  on  the  brightly  polished 
brass  of  the  device,  but  could  not  make  out  whether 
the  device  itself  was  the  crossed  rifles  of  the  infantry 
or  sabres  of  the  cavalry.  Then  the  hand  was  laid 
upon  the  sill,  the  body  slowly  unbent,  and  the  head 
was  raised  until  two  beady  eyes,  under  a  low  fore]  ead 

12* 


138  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

and  a  crop  of  thick,  dark  hair,  could  peer  in  between 
the  slats.  One  lingering  scrutiny  of  every  person  and 
object  visible  in  the  room,  then  down  he  crouched, 
and,  almost  on  all-fours,  slipped  away  to  the  corner  of 
the  building,  Holmes  now  briskly  striding  in  pursuit. 
Half-way  back  across  the  court,  just  as  he  entered  the 
beam  of  light,  the  latter's  foot  came  down  upon  the 
edge  of  one  of  those  tough  and  elastic  hoops,  such  as 
are  sure  to  be  lying  about  in  the  yards  of  commissary 
and  quartermaster  storehouses,  and  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  it  whirled  up  and  struck  him  with  a  sharp 
and  audible  snap.  In  an  instant  the  crouching  figure 
shot  to  its  full  height  and  darted  out  of  sight  around 
the  corner.  When  Holmes  reached  the  front  of  the 
building,  not  a  man  in  uniform  was  visible.  Cow 
boys  and  a  scout  or  two  remained.  The  stage-driver 
was  again  the  centre  of  attraction,  and  all  were 
grouped  about  him  on  the  low  piazza.  Holmes  called 
one  of  the  ranchmen  to  one  side,  and  asked  him  if  he 
had  seen  or  heard  anything  of  a  soldier  who  came  sud 
denly  around  the  corner,  but  the  man  shook  his  head. 
Stepping  inside  the  office  he  met  the  major  and  his 
host,  Dr.  Bayard,  while  a  tall,  well-formed,  colored 
girl  stood  in  front  of  the  little  wicket,  and  a  number 
of  loungers  still  hung  about  the  place.  The  officers 
stopped  and  said  they  would  wait  until  he  got  his 
letters,  and,  as  he  took  his  place  near  the  window, 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  139 

Mrs.  Griffin  was  just  handing  a  little  packet  to  the 
colored  girl.  The  light  fell  on  the  topmost  letter, 
addressed  in  bold,  legible  hand  to  Miss  Fanny  For 
rest  ;  and  Holmes  could  plainly  see  the  post-mark  and 
device  on  the  upper  corner,  showing  that  it  came  from 
the  .Red  Cloud  Agency,  and  old  Camp  Robinson. 
" Halloo!"  thought  he  to  himself,  "I  had  forgotten 
that  we  were  as  good  as  cut  off  from  them  now,  and 
they  are  sending  around  by  way  of  Sidney  and  Chey 
enne."  Quickly  the  girl  turned  over  the  letters,  made 
some  laughing  remark  expressive  of  disappointment 
at  getting  nothing  from  her  beau ;  then,  facing  Mr. 
Holmes  and  showing  her  white  teeth,  with  a  coquet 
tish  toss  of  her  head  accosted  him :  "  Good-evening, 
Mr.  Holmes.  S'pose  you  don't  know  me ;  Fm  Celes- 
tine, — Miss  Forrest's  girl.  Miss  Griffin,  yere's  Mr. 
Holmes  waitin'  for  his  mail.  Ain't  no  use  you  lookin' 
for  anything  for  this  trash,"  she  said,  contemptuously 
indicating  the  two  or  three  intervening  frontier  folks. 
"Han'  it  to  me  an'  I'll  give  it  to  him." 

But  just  at  this  moment  there  was  a  stir  at  the 
door.  The  loungers  who  had  never  budged  an  inch 
for  Mr.  Holmes  drew  promptly  back,  making  way 
for  a  tall  young  lady,  who  entered,  all  aglow  from  a 
rapid  walk,  her  dark  eyes  gleaming,  her  fine,  mobile 
lips  wreathed  with  pleasant  smiles  the  instant  she 
caught  sight  of  the  doctor,  who,  cap  in  hand,  ad- 


140  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

vanoed  to  meet  her.      It  was  Miss  Forrest   herself, 
and  behind  her  came  her  escort,  the  adjutant. 

"I  thought  I  heard  Celestine's  voice,"  she  said, 
looking  questioningly  around;  and  Holmes  quickly 
noted  that  the  girl  had  suddenly  slunk  back  behind  a 
little  group  of  camp-women.  Finding  it  useless  to 
evade  the  searching  glance  of  her  young  mistress,  the 
girl  came  forth. 

:<  Yes,  Miss  Fanny.  I  got  your  letters,  miss,"  she 
said,  but  the  confident  tone  was  gone.  Holmes 
marked  the  look  in  Miss  Forrest's  flashing  eye  as  she 
took  the  little  packet  with  no  gentle  hand.  He  was 
near  enough,  too,  to  hear  the  low-spoken  but  clearly 
enunciated  words: 

"  And  I  told  yon  never  again  to  touch  my  letters. 
This  must  be  the  last  time/' 


XL 


FOUR  days  had  passed  since  Terry's  fight  down  the 
river.  McLean,  painfully  wounded,  but  very  quiet 
and  plucky,  had  been  re-established  in  his  old  quarters 
at  "Bedlam."  Dr.  Bayard,  after  one  or  two  some 
what  formal  visits,  had  relinquished  the  entire  charge 
of  the  case  to  his  assistant;  so  that  Dr.  Weeks  was 
now  the  medical  and  surgical  attendant  of  both  the 
young  officers  in  the  north  hall,  while  his  senior  con 
tinued  assiduously  to  care  for  the  wants  of  the  femi 
nine  colony  in  the  other.  It  may  be  said  right  here, 
that,  so  far  as  those  sturdy  "  refugees"  the  Posts  were 
concerned,  professional  and  personal  attentions  from 
Dr.  Bayard  were  both  declared  unnecessary.  Mrs. 
Post  was  a  woman  of  admirable  physique  and  some 
what  formidable  personality.  She  did  not  fancy  the 
elaborate  manners  of  the  surgeon  at  their  first  meeting, 
and  allowed  her  lack  of  appreciation  of  "His  Ele 
gancy"  to  develop  into  positive  dislike  before  she  had 
known  him  a  fortnight.  Now,  since  the  "  north  end" 
had  become  a  hospital,  she  was  willing  to  admit  the 
doctor  to  her  confidence,  for  the  good  lady  was  in 
cessant  in  the  preparation  of  comforting  drinks  or 
culinary  dainties  for  the  two  invalids ;  but  what  was 

141 


142  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

the  measure  of  her  indignation  when  she  discovered 
that  Bayard's  attentions  at  "Bedlam"  were  confined 
to  the  south  hall  and  to  Mrs.  Forrest's  quarters? 

He  had  always  been  a  specialist  in  the  maladies  of 
women  and  children,  to  be  sure,  and  we  all  know  of 
what  vital  importance  are  such  practitioners  in  our 
large  garrisons.  He  was  a  welcome  visitor  either  at 
the  fireside  or  in  the  sick-room  of  every  family  home 
stead  on  the  reservation— except  Mrs.  Post's — when 
soever  he  chose  to  call,  but  that  his  presence  at  Mrs. 
Forrest's  should  be  requisite  and  necessary  three  or 
four  times  every  twenty-four  hours  was  something 
Mrs.  Post  could  not  be  brought  to  believe,  and  her 
scepticism  speedily  inoculated  the  entire  community. 

Mrs.  Forrest  declared  she  did  not  know  how  she 
could  have  lived  through  the  terrors  of  the  past  week 
had  it  not  been  for  Dr.  Bayard's  delicate  and  skilful 
ministrations.  The  doctor  himself  was  understood  to 
say  that  the  poor  lady's  nervous  system  was  utterly 
unstrung,  that  she  was  in  a  hyper-sensitive  condition 
which  might  readily  develop  into  nervous  prostration 
unless  she  was  carefully  guarded.  The  officers  of  the 
garrison,  when  they  spoke  of  the  matter  at  all,  which 
was  not  often,  laughingly  referred  to  the  admirable 
tactics  of  the  astute  physician  in  finding  excuses  for 
frequent  professional  visits  to  a  house  where  it  was 
now  apparent  to  all  he  was  personally  interested.  The 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  143 

women,  when  they  did  not  speak  of  the  matter  to  one 
another,  which  was  seldom  indeed,  were  divided  in 
their  opinions.  That  Dr.  Bayard  was  "  smitten"  with 
Fanny  Forrest  was  something  they  had  seen  from  the 
start,  but  that  brilliant  and  most  incomprehensible 
young  woman  had  on  more  than  one  occasion  treated 
him  with  marked  coldness  and  aversion.  What  was 
the  matter?  Had  he  been  too  precipitate  in  his 
wooing?  Twice  since  Hatton  returned  with  his  little 
escort,  bringing  in  the  wounded,  had  Miss  Forrest 
declined  Dr.  Bayard's  arm,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
while  she  seemed  to  repel  the  senior,  she  was  now 
showing  a  marked  interest  in  his  junior, — the  attend 
ant  of  the  wounded  officers.  Twice  while  Dr.  Bayard 
was  known  to  be  visiting  at  the  Forrests',  she  was  seen 
to  come  forth,  and,  after  an  irresolute  glance  up  and 
down  the  walk,  as  though  she  had  no  other  purpose  in 
venturing  out  than  to  escape  from  her  elderly  admirer, 
the  young  lady  had  walked  down  the  path  away  from 
the  officers7  quarters  and  disappeared  from  view  in  the 
direction  of  the  trader's  store.  Some  of  the  ladies 
were  beginning  to  believe  that,  faute  de  mieux,  the 
doctor  was  consoling  himself  in  a  flirtation  with  his 
lackadaisical  patient;  but  it  was  speedily  noted  that 
he  stayed  only  a  few  moments  when  Miss  Forrest  left 
the  premises,  and  the  idea  was  as  speedily  scouted  by 
the  entire  sisterhood,  unless,  indeed,  we  except  the 


144  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

lady  herself.  Poor  Mrs.  Forrest !  In  these  days  of 
her  faded  beauty,  she  could  not  forget  the  fact  that  it 
was  only  a  few  years  before  that  her  rosebud  com 
plexion  and  tender  blue  eyes  had  been  the  cause  of 
many  a  heartache  among  the  young  fellows  in  the 
garrison  where  she,  the  only  damsel,  reigned  supreme  ; 
and  lives  there  a  woman  who,  having  once  queened  it 
over  the  hearts  of  the  opposite  sex,  can  quite  abandon 
the  idea  that  her  powers  still  exist? 

Knowing,  from  plain  declarations  to  that  effect,  that 
her  spirited  sister-in-law  totally  disapproved  of  Dr. 
Bayard  after  a  conversation  held  with  him  the  night 
McLean  was  returned  to  the  post,  Mrs.  Forrest  was 
fain  to  flatter  herself  that  these  frequent  visits  to  her 
were  impelled  by  an  interest  transcending  the  pro 
fessional  and  rapidly  becoming  sentimental.  It  really 
did  her  good ;  gave  her  something  to  think  about  be 
sides  her  woes ;  rescued  her  from  the  slatternly  ways 
into  which  she  was  falling  and  restored  a  faded 
coquetry  to  her  dress  and  mien ;  brightened  her  dreary 
eyes  and  lent  color  to  her  pallid  cheek,  and  prompted 
her  to  surround  herself  with  those  domestic  barricades 
against  unhallowed  glances  and  unwarranted  sighs, — 
the  children.  But  when  Fanny  Forrest  flatly  told  her 
it  was  all  nonsense,  this  encouraging  Dr.  Bayard's 
visits  on  account  of  some  supposititious  malady,  and 
that  she  was  looking  better  than  she  had  seen  her  look 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM,  145 

in  six  months,  the  lady  took  offence  at  the  first  state 
ment  and  alarm  at  the  second,  and  between  the  two 
a  relapse  was  accomplished  which,  of  course,  trium 
phantly  established  the  justice  of  her  position  and 
the  ineffable  cruelty  of  her  sister's  charge. 

Fanny  Forrest's  life  could  hardly  have  been  pleas 
ant  just  then,  said  'superficial  commentators.  To 
every  woman  who  called  upon  the  lady  of  the  house 
in  her  invalid  state,  Mrs.  Forrest  had  something  to 
say  about  the  heartlessness  and  utter  lack  of  sym 
pathy  with  which  she  was  treated ;  and  who  can 
doubt  that  the  letters  she  wrote  her  soldier  husband 
made  frequent  complaint  to  the  same  effect?  Now, 
if  in  the  domestic  circle  Miss  Forrest  had  no  friend 
or  sympathizer,  it  was  quite  as  bad  without.  With 
all  her  frankness,  brilliancy,  and  dash,  with  all  her 
willingness  to  be  cordial  and  friendly,  there  had 
arisen  between  her  and  the  whole  sisterhood  in  the 
garrison  a  strange,  intangible,  but  impenetrable  bar 
rier.  She  was  welcome  nowhere,  and  was  too  proud 
to  inquire  the  cause. 

This  state  of  things  could  not  go  on  long,  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Sooner  or  later  the  reason  would 
be  demanded  by  somebody,  and  then  the  stories  would 
come  out.  Mrs.  Miller  and  Mrs.  Bruce,  as  recorded 
in  an  earlier  chapter,  had  covenanted  together  to 
keep  the  secret;  but  that  mysterious  theft  the  night 
Q  k  13 


146  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

of  the  dinner  at  the  doctor's  had  made  the  former 
determine  on  another  revelation  to  her  lord  and 
master,  the  post  commander.  As  for  Mrs.  Bruce, 
she  struggled — well,  womanfully — to  hold  her  tongue, 
and  womanfully  succeeded. 

Two  nights  after  McLean  had  been  brought  home 
and  was  lying  in  a  somewhat  feverish  condition,  the 
major  commanding  came  in  and  softly  tapped  at  the 
door  of  the  front  room.  Hatton  was  seated  at  the 
table  reading  by  the  light  of  the  Argand,  and  he 
arose  at  once  and  tiptoed  to  see  who  was  there. 

"  Oh  !  Come  in,  major,"  he  said,  in  a  low  tone, 
throwing  open  the  door.  "Come  in." 

"  Is  McLean  asleep  ?"  whispered  the  major.  "  I 
— I  don't  want  to  disturb  him.  I  only  wanted  to 
inquire." 

"Not  asleep,  sir,  but  lying  in  a  sort  of  doze. 
Weeks  is  trying  to  fight  off  fever." 

"  I  know ;  I  understand.  It  may  be  several  days 
before  he'll  be  well  enough  to — to  talk,  won't  it?" 
and  the  major  gazed  keenly  into  Hatton's  eyes,  and 
Hatton  plainly  saw  the  trouble  in  his  commander's 
face. 

"  I  fear  it  may,  sir.  Weeks  says  he  must  be  kept 
quiet  and  free  from  worry  of  any  kind." 

The  major  paused,  irresolute.  He  took  off  his 
forage-cap  and  mopped  his  brow  with  his  handker- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  147 

chief,  then  stood  there  twisting  the  cap  in  his  hands. 
He  looked  down  the  dim  hall-way,  then  through  the 
crack  of  the  door,  then  down  at  his-  boots,  and  all 
the  time  Hatton  stood  there  holding  wide  open  the 
door,  yet  hoping  and  praying,  he  would  not  come 
in.  Something  told  the  lieutenant  that  the  matter 
so  plainly  worrying  the  commanding  officer  was  one 
neither  he  nor  McLean  could  speak  of  if  it  could 
possibly  be  helped. 

But  Miller  was  in  sore  trouble,  and  he  could  not 
stand  alone. 

"  Hatton !"  he  muttered,  impulsively,  "  is  the  nurse 
there?  Can  you  come  out  with  me?  I — I  have 
heard  something  that  gives  me  a  world  of  concern, 
something  I  must  ask  you  about.  I  can't  talk  of 
it  here.  Sick  men's  ears  are  sometimes  far  more 
acute  than  those  of  their  sound  and  healthy  brothers. 
Can  you  come  now?" 

"  I  am  alone  with  Mac  just  now,  sir.  I  sent  the 
attendant  down  to  the  post-office  and  the  store.  He 
had  been  cooped  up  all  day,  and  was  grateful  for  a 

litttle  fresh  air.  When  he  returns "  and  Hatton 

stopped  vaguely.  He  knew  it  might  be  an  hour  be 
fore  the  man  got  back.  That  would  give  him  time 
to  think. 

"Well.  That  will  have  to  do.  Come  to  my 
quarters  then,  and,  if  a  lot  of  women  are  there,  you 


148  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

— you  say  you  want  to  see  me  about  something, — 
anything, — and  I'll  come  out.  I  don't  want  them 
to  dream  I'm  investigating  anything."  And  here  the 
major  stopped  uneasily  and  glanced  up-stairs;  then 
looked  inquiringly  at  Hatton.  "  Who's  up  there  ?"  he 
asked. 

"No  one,  sir,  to  my  knowledge.  Blunt's  door  is 
closed  and  he  is  sleeping.  Weeks  was  there  not  ten 
minutes  since,  and  stopped  to  see  me  on  the  way 
down.  Why  do  you  ask  ?" 

"  Why,  I  thought  I  heard  something, — a  woman's 
dress  and  light  footfall.  I  even  thought  I  saw  a 
shadow  at  the  head  of  the  stairs." 

Hatton's  heart  gave  a  great  thump,  and  he  felt  his 
face  glowing  under  his  commander's  gaze,  but  he 
answered  steadily. 

"It  is  possible,  sir.  Mrs.  Post  and  Miss  Forrest 
both  have  been  coming  along  the  upper  gallery  fre 
quently,  bringing  things  to  both  Blunt  and  McLean. 
Mrs.  Post  comes  over  to  inquire  every  hour  or  so,  and 
they  tiptoe  in  and  out  as'  light  as  a  kitten.  Shall  I 
run  up  and  see?" 

"  Oh,  no, — no  !  If  that's  the  explanation,  it  is 
simple  enough.  No,  I'm  all  upset.  I — I  fancied 
there  was  some  one  listening.  Come  to  me  as  soon  as 
you  can,  Hatton.  By  the  way,  have  you  heard  from 
Mr.  Holmes?" 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  149 

"No,  sir.  He  was  called  suddenly  to  the  ranch, 
and  I  presume  he  is  there." 

"  I  know,  I  know.  But  did  he  see  McLean  before 
he  left?" 

"See  him!  Yes,  sir;  but  that's  about  all  he  could 
do.  McLean  was  in  no  condition  to  receive  visitors, 
and  Weeks  hustled  him  out  somewhat  unceremoni 
ously." 

"Well.  That's  all,  just  now.  I'll  expect  you  soon 
after  tattoo." 

"Very  good,  sir." 

And  then  the  major  went  away,  closing  the  hall- 
door  after  him.  Hatton  stood  there  a  moment  as 
though  rooted  to  the  spot,  his  brow  moistening  with 
beads  of  sweat  that  seemed  starting  from  every  pore. 
Despite  his  secrecy,  then,  despite  McLean's  destruc 
tion  of  the  evidence  of  her  visit  the  night  of  the 
disappearance  of  their  property,  despite  their  deter 
mination  to  shield  the  sister  of  an  absent  comrade 
from  suspicion,  or  disgrace,  in  some  way  the  story 
must  have  gotten  around.  Possibly  there  were  other 
thefts  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  in  which  suspi 
cion  had  pointed  to  her.  Possibly  the  vague  con 
fessions,  implicating  no  one,  which  he  had  made  to 
Mrs.  Miller,  taken  in  connection  with  events  of  which 
he  had  no  knowledge,  had  proved  sufficient  to  weave 
a  chain  of  circumstantial  evidence  about  her;  and 


150  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

now  the  commanding  officer  was  aroused,  and  was 
coming  down  on  him,  and  poor  Mac  yonder,  for 
full  details  of  their  losses  and  their  knowledge  of 
the  affair.  He  would  give  anything  to  secure  the 
postponement  of  that  dreaded  interview  until  he 
could  talk  over  matters  with  his  comrade,  but 
when  would  that  be  a  possibility?  Just  as  soon 
as  the  attendant  returned,  he  must  go  to  his  com 
mander,  and  either  make  a  clean  breast  of  it  or 
refuse  to  utter  a  word.  What  course  would  he 
ask  or  expect  of  a  comrade  if  it  were  his,  Hat- 
ton's,  sister,  who  was  here  alone  and  defenceless? 
By  heaven,  McLean  was  right !  They  must  shield 
her,  so  far  as  shield  of  theirs  could  serve,  until 
Forrest  himself  could  come  to  be  her  adviser  and 
protector. 

Then  he,  too,  stopped,  listened,  and  looked  tip  the 
stairs.  Then  he,  too,  started,  but  with  a  start  to 
which  the  major's  sudden  turn  was  a  mere  languid 
f gesture.  Hardly  could  he  believe  his  eyes;  hardly 
could  he  trust  his  reeling  senses,  but  it  was  she, — 
Fanny  Forrest, — not  standing  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs,  but  coming  swiftly  down  upon  him,  her  finger 
at  her  lips,  her  other  hand  gathering  her  skirts  so  that 
they  should  make  as  little  rustle  as  possible  as  she 
swooped  quickly  down  the  stairs.  Another  instant, 
and  she  was  at  his  side,  her  eyes  gleaming  like  fiery 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  151 

coals,  her  face  burning,  her  lips  firm,  set,  and  deter 
mined.  He  was  too  much  startled  to  speak.  It  was 
she  who  broke  the  silence,  in  words  clear-cut  and 
distinct  yet  soft  and  low. 

"Mr.  Hatton,  I  saw  your  major  coming  here.  I 
have  heard  within  two  days  more  than  you  know.  I 
know  why  he  wishes  to  see  you  to-night,  and — yes,  I 
listened.  There  is  more  at  stake  than  you  dream 
of.  Now,  I  hasten  to  you;  there  is  no  time  to  ex 
plain, — no  time  to  answer  questions.  If  you  would 
save  a  friend  from  wrong  or  ruin,  don't  go  near  Major 
Miller  to-night.  I  adjure  you,  find  some  excuse.  I'll 
find  one  for  you,  if  it  is  only  to  delay  that  attendant ; 
but  mark  what  I  say,  don't  go  near  Major  Miller 
to-night,  or  tell  him  what  you  know  until  Mr. 
Holmes  returns.  I — Fve  sent  for  him.  "Will  you 
promise  ?" 

"  Promise !"  he  utters,  slowly,  a  dazed  look  in  his 
eyes.  "  Good  God,  Miss  Forrest !  I  would  do  any 
thing  in  my  power  for  Captain  Forrest's  sister,  and 
for  him;  but  if— if  this  thing  is  known,  what  can 
my  silence  avail?" 

"  Never  mind  Captain  Forrest  or  Captain  Forrest's 
sister !  This  is  vital !  Do  you  promise  ?  It  is  only 
for  a  day.  Mr.  Holmes  will  be  here  in  twenty-four 
hours." 

"  What  can  his  coming  or  going — pardon  me  !  but 


152  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

I'm  at  a  loss  to  see  how  he  is  in  any  way  con- 
cerned." 

A  manly  step  was  heard  on  the  porch  without.  She 
turned  a  glance  of  terror  at  the  hall-door  and  flew  to 
spring  the  latch,  but  the  step  went  on  toward  the 
south  hall. 

"It  is  the  doctor,"  she  said,  falteringly.  "He  is 
going  to  our  quarters,  and  I  must  hurry  back  the  way 
I  came.  Mr.  Hatton,  tell  no  one  I  came  to  you  here ; 
and,  as  for  the  rest,  I  implore  you  to  be  guided  by 
what  I  say.  One  thing  more," — she  whipped  from 
her  pocket  a  white  silk  handkerchief.  "  Put  this  back 
among  his, — not  on  top,  but  anywhere  among  them 
otherwise.'* 

And,  thrusting  the  soft  fabric  into  his  hand,  with 
out  another  word  she  flew  up  the  old  wooden  stairs, 
her  skirts  rushing  and  "  swishing"  over  the  floor,  her 
slippered  feet  twinkling  over  the  rickety  flight,  light 
as  kittens,  swift  as  terriers ;  and  in  an  instant  she  was 
through  the  upper  hall,  out  on  the  gallery,  and  beyond 
sight  and  hearing.  A  few  moments,  dazed  and  con 
founded,  Hatton  stood  there  gazing  vacantly  after  her. 
Then  he  thought  he  heard  McLean's  voice,  and  enter 
ing  found  him  propped  on  his  elbow,  a  queer  look  on 
his  face. 

"Hat,  there  are  spooks  in  this  old  rookery.  I 
could  have  sworn  I  heard  a  woman's  dress  and  a 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  153 

woman's  footfalls  on  those  creaking  stairs  just  now. 
Has  any  one  been  in  here?" 

"N — no  one,  Mac." 

"Gad!  I'm  not  dreaming.  It  sounded  just  as  it 
did  the  night — the  night  that  thing  happened.  You 
know,  Hat." 


XII 

JUST  at  tattoo  that  evening  Mrs.  Miller  was  smit 
ten  with  a  sudden  desire  to  go  over  and  see  Nellie 
Bayard.  The  child  hadn't  been  out  of  the  house, 
she  explained,  since  "  the  Grays"  started  for  the  fray 
down  the  Platte,  taking  Randall  McLean  with  them. 
She  longed  to  see  her  and  learn  from  her  lips  how 
matters  were  going  at  home.  She  wondered  if  Nellie 
knew  how  her  father  was  devoting  himself  to  the 
Forrests ;  she  wondered  if  the  gentle  and  obedient 
daughter  would  not  rebel  at  the  idea  of  such  a  pos 
sibility  as  his  becoming  seriously  attached  to  Miss 
Forrest.  She  had  indulged  the  major  in  one  very 
plain  and  startling  dissertation  on  the  subject  of 
that  young  woman,  from  the  effects  of  which  he 
was  still  suffering;  but,  worst  of  all,  her  motherly 
heart  longed  to  acquire,  through  Nellie's  words, 
looks,  or  actions,  some  idea  as  to  whether  she  really 
cared  for  her  pet  among  all  the  lieutenants.  Of 
course  Nellie  liked  —  but  did  she  love  him?  Of 
McLean's  deep-rooted  regard  for  the  shy  and  sen 
sitive  little  maiden,  Mrs.  Miller  had  not  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt.  Nellie  had  no  one,  she  argued,  to  be 
a  mother  to  her  in  this  troublesome  time,  and  yet 
154 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  155 

she  was  beginning  to  feel  a  species  of  jealousy  in 
the  knowledge  that  the  Braces  and  the  Gordons  and 
other  good  garrison  people — maid  and  matron — had 
been  seen  going  continually  to  and  from  the  doctor's 
quarters.  Mrs.  Miller  thought  she  had  a  prior  claim 
on  the  confidences  of  the  doctor's  pretty  daughter, 
and  did  not  relish  it  that  others  should  possibly  be 
before  her.  Oddly  enough  there  was  no  one  calling 
on  this  night  of  nights;  the  major  had  been  out, 
ostensibly  to  attend  to  business  at  the  office,  but 
something  told  her  he  was  seeking  information  as 
to  the  array  of  circumstances  pointing  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  further  evidence  against  Miss  Forrest. 

The  bugles  were  sounding  the  call  through  the 
stillness  of  the  early  summer  night,  though  at  Lar- 
amie  summer  seemed  yet  far  away,  when  she  heard 
him  coming  heavily  up  the  steps  to  the  piazza.  Well 
the  good  lady  knew  by  the  very  cadence  of  his  foot 
falls  just  what  mood  possessed  him.  It  was  slow, 
draggy,  spiritless  to-night;  and,  though  he  had 
almost  angrily  and  contemptuously  checked  her  when 
she  began  the  story  of  these  later  revelations,  her 
heart  yearned  over  him  now.  She  went  down  to 
him,  as  he  sat  there  looking  drearily  out  at  the 
twinkling  lights  across  the  parade. 

"Come,  major/'  she  said,  addressing  him,  as  was 
a  fancy  of  hers  at  times,  by  the  formal  army  title 


156  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

instead  of  the  Christian  name.  "  Come ;  I'm  going 
over  to  the  doctor's  to  see  how  Nellie  is  to-night; 
and,  not  that  I  need  an  escort,  I  want  your  com 
pany.  A  glass  of  his  old  Madeira  will  do  you  good, 
and  he  is  always  so  glad  to  offer  it.  You  are  blue 
to-night,  and  so  am  I.  Come." 

He  resisted  faintly.  Hatton  might  be  along  any 
moment,  and  he  had  an  appointment  with  him,  lie 
said ;  but  she  speedily  settled  that  by  calling  the 
orderly,  and  telling  him,  should  Mr.  Hatton  call,  to 
come  over  at  once  to  Dr.  Bayard's  and  let  the  major 
know.  Then  her  obedient  lord  had  no  further  ob 
jections  to  urge,  and  he,  too,  had  bethought  him  of 
the  doctor's  Madeira  and  those  incomparable  Regalia 
Britannicas.  Nowhere  in  Wyoming  were  there  cigars 
to  match  Bayard's,  and  it  was  easy  to  persuade  himself 
that  'he  could  so  much  better  deliberate  on  the  matter 
in  hand  over  the  fragrance  of  the  soothing  Havana. 
Robert  threw  open  the  door  in  hospitable  Virginian 
style  at  sight  of  the  commandant  and  his  wife,  ushered 
them  into  the  parlor,  sent  the  maid  up-stairs  to  in 
quire  if  Miss  Elinor  could  see  Mrs.  Miller ;  and  then, 
true  to  his  Southern  training,  reappeared  in  the  parlor 
with  a  decanter  of  wine  and  some  flaky  "  Angels7 
food"  upon  a  silver  salver.  The  doctor  had  gone  to 
the  hospital,  he  explained,  but  would  soon  return. 
Then  he  vanished.  Miller  smacked  his  lips  over  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  157 

Madeira,  and  smilingly  admitted  to  his  better  half 
that  he  believed  there  were  some  things  on  which  "  her 
head  was  leveller  than  his." 

For  a  reply  she  pointed  to  the  hall-way. 

"Come  here  just  one  moment.  I  want  you  to  see 
where  I  stood,  and  how  I  could  view  what  was  going 
on  at  the  hat-rack  out  there." 

Silently  he  stood  by  her  side,  glanced  at  the  mirror; 
and  noted  the  reflection  therein. 

"It  was  just  there  his  beautiful  fur  coat  was  hang 
ing, — and  the  money  in  its  pocket,"  she  said. 

Then  came  the  message  from  aloft,  that,  if  Mrs. 
Miller  would  step  up-stairs,  Miss  Bayard  would  be 
glad  to  see  her, — Miss  Bruce  was  already  there;  and 
so  the  major  was  left  alone.  He  sat  some  five  min 
utes  looking  over  an  aJbum  or  two,  poured  out  and 
drank  another  glass  of  wine,  and  bethought  him  that 
Bayard  had  told  him  if  ever  he  felt  like  smoking  to 
go  right  into  his  study  and  help  himself.  Now  was 
the  very  time.  A  dozen  strides  brought  him  to  the 
broad-topped  library-table  littered  with  books,  pam 
phlets,  papers  of  all  kinds,  and  among  them  the  in 
viting-looking  brown  box.  Another  moment,  and, 
ensconced  in  the  big  easy-chair,  with  a  fragrant  Ee- 
galia  between  his  lips  and  a  late  New  York  paper  in 
his  hand,  the  major  was  forgetting  the  perplexities  of 
the  day.  The  reading-lamp  he  found  lighted  threw 

14 


158  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

a  bright  glow  upon  the  paper  in  his  hand,  but  left  the 
apartment  in  darkness.  Out  in  the  kitchen  he  could 
faintly  hear  the  voices  of  the  domestics  and  the  sound 
of  crockery  and  glass  in  process  of  cleaning,  above- 
stairs  the  murmur  of  softer  tongues.  All  in  the  front 
part  of  the  house  on  the  first  floor  was  silent.  Pres 
ently,  out  on  the  parade  the  bugler  began  to  sound 
the  signal,  "  taps,"  to  extinguish  lights,  and  at  the 
same  moment  Miller  heard  the  click  of  the  latch  at 
the  front  door.  There  had  been  no  footsteps  that  he 
could  hear,  and  he  thought  he  might  be  mistaken. 
He  listened  intently,  and  presently  click,  click,  it  went 
again.  Odd,  thought  Miller.  That  is  not  the  way  a 
man  enters  his  own  house,  nor  does  it  sound  like  the 
way  an  honest  man  enters  any  one  else's.  Click,  click, 
again,  louder  and  more  forcibly  now.  Some  one  .was 
plainly  trying  to  open  that  door  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  occupants.  "What  if  now  he  should 
be  able  to  surprise  the  prowler?  What  if  this  should, 
indeed,  prove  to  be  some  one  bent  on  larceny  or 
worse?  Now  was  an  excellent  time.  The  doctor 
was  known  to  be  away, — over  at  the  hospital.  Miss 
Bayard  was  known  to  be  up-stairs,  confined  to  her 
room.  Very  probably  the  thief  had  watched  the 
movements  of  the  post  surgeon,  knew  he  would  be 
detained  some  time,  and — there  were  all  those  pretty 
nicknacks  in  the  parlor.  There  was  that  handsome 


THE   QUEEN   OF  BEDLAM.  159 

silver  in  the  dining-room  (it  was  always  in  the  doctor's 
strong  box  under  the  bed  at  night).  What  more 
likely  than  that  now  was  the  time  selected  by  some 
sharp  sneak-thief  in  the  garrison  to  slink  through  the 
shadows  of  the  night  to  the  doctor's  quarters,  slip  in 
the  front  way  while  the  servants  were  all  chattering 
and  laughing  in  the  kitchen  in  the  rear,  and  make  off 
with  his  plunder?  It  was  an  inspiration.  Miller's 
heart  fairly  bounded  at  the  thought.  If  the  thief 
could  enter  now,  he  could  have  entered  before, — the 
night  of  the  dinner.  By  Jove !  Did  he  not  recall 
that  sudden  gust  of  cold  air  that  swept  from  the  hall 
in  the  midst  of  the  doctor's  story?  Click,  click,  snap ! 
At  it  again,  and  no  mistake  this  time.  Quickly  and 
on  tiptoe  the  major  stole  toward  the  hall  where  he 
could  see  the  front  door.  It  was  his  hope,  his  belief 
now,  that  the  thief  would  speedily  effect  an  entrance ; 
and  from  the  darkness  of  his  lair  the  major  could  see 
and  identify  him,  let  him  in,  follow  him  on  tiptoe  to 
the  dining-room,  there  seize  and  confound  him  in  the 
very  act,  and  so,  fastening  the  crime  on  some  one 
guilty  man,  dispel  at  once  and  for  all  the  cloud  of 
suspicion  that  hovered  over  a  woman's  fair  fame. 
Click,  click,  again.  What  was  the  matter?  Would 
the  stubborn  lock  not  yield?  or  was -this  a  'prentice 
hand,  and  his  tools  unsuited  to  the  job?  In  his  wild 
impatience  he  could  have  rushed  to  the  door  and 


160  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

hurled  it  open,  but  that  would  have  only  spoiled  the 
game.  He  could  have  caught  his  prowler,  but  proved 
nothing.  No,  patience !  patience !  A  burst  of  jolly 
Ethiopian  laughter  from  the  distant  kitchen  drowned 
for  a  moment  other  sounds  and  possibly  unnerved  the 
operator  at  the  door.  Did  he  hear  quick,  light  foot 
steps  hurrying  away  ?  There  was  a  broad  "  stoop" 
there,  quite  a  wide  veranda  in  fact,  since  the  unsightly 
wooden  storm-door  had  been  removed.  For  an  in 
stant  he  certainly  thought  he  heard  scurrying  footfalls. 
Not  the  steps  themselves,  but  the  creak  of  the  dry 
woodwork  underneath  them.  He  listened  intently  an 
other  moment,  but  the  attempt  had  apparently  been 
abandoned. 

Then — there  it  was  again.  Surely  he  heard  a  light 
footfall  on  the  steps, — on  the  piazza  itself.  He  could 
bear  the  suspense  no  longer,  and,  springing  into  the 
hall  where  the  hanging  lamp  shed  its  broad  glare  over 
every  object,  hurled  open  the  door, — and  recoiled  in 
mingling  agony  and  horror.  God  of  heaven  !  There 
stood  Fanny  Forrest ! 

u  Major  Miller !"  she  gasped,  affrighted  at  his  vehe 
mence  and  the  ghastly  look  with  which  he  greeted  her. 
"  How — how  you  startled  me !  Why,  what  has  hap 
pened  ?  where  were  you  going  in  such — why,  major — 
what  is  the  matter  ?"  and  now  there  was  something 
imperious  in  the  demand. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  IQl 

For  all  answer  he  could  only  pass  his  hand  over  his 
quivering  face  in  a  dazed,  dumb  sort  of  way  a  moment. 
Then,  rallying  suddenly,  he  stepped  forward,  giving 
his  head  a  shake  and  striving  to  be  cool  and  calm. 

"  You  are  more  startled  than  I,  Miss  Forrest.  I 
never  thought  to  find  you  at  that  door." 

"And  why  not  me?  I  have  not  seen  Nellie  since 
her  illness,  and  came  over  at  taps  to  inquire  if  she 
would  not  receive  me  a  moment." 

"Why — why  didn't  you  ring?"  he  hoarsely  asked. 

"Ring!  What  opportunity  had  I?  My  foot  had 
hardly  touched  the  piazza  before  the  door  opened  in 
my  face  and  revealed  you  looking — well,  pardon  me, 
Major  Miller — as  if  you  had  suddenly  encountered  a 
ghost." 

"Do  you  mean  you  have  only  just  come?"  he 
asked. 

"Certainly." 

"  And  you  saw  no  one  ?  There  was  no  one  here  as 
you  came  in  the  gate?" 

"Not  a  soul, — stop  a  minute  though, — there  was 
something " 

"  Pray,  what  are  you  talking  about,  Major  Miller, 
and  to  whom  are  you  talking?"  queried  the  voice  of 
his  better  half  at  this  very  instant;  and  before  he  could 
respond  there  came  through  the  gate-way  and  up  the 
steps  the  debonair,  portly  doctor. 
l  14* 


162  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  What !"  exclaimed  Bayard.  "Miss  Forrest !  Ah, 
you  truant,  we've  been  wondering  where  you  were, 
your  sister  and  I.  Ah,  major ! — Mrs.  Miller.  .  Why, 
this  is  delightful !  Now  indeed  am  I  welcome  home ! 
Come  right  into  my  parlor,  said  the — but  I'm  no 
spider.  Come,  Miss  Forrest,  I  know  you  want  to  see 
my  little  girl, — I  left  Jeannie  Bruce  with  her.  Major, 
you  and  I  want  a  glass  of  Madeira  and  Mrs.  Miller  to 
bless  the  occasion,  and  then  we  all  want  some  music, 
don't  we?  Come  in,  and  welcome." 

And  so,  half  urging,  half  pushing,  half  leading, 
the  doctor  swept  his  trio  of  visitors  into  the  parlor. 
Despite  her  start  at  Miller's  appearance  at  the  door, 
despite  his  preoccupation  and  gloom,  which  several 
glasses  of  the  doctor's  good  wine  failed  to  dissipate, 
Miss  Forrest  remained  after  a  brief  visit  to  -the  invalid 
up-stairs  and,  saying  that  she  had  promised  Nellie, 
sang  to  them  witchingly  again  and  again. 

But  that  night,  despatches  flashed  in  from  Fetter- 
man  that  gave  the  major  another  turn.  The  telegraph 
operator  himself  came  running  up  with  the  message 
just  as  the  party  at  the  doctor's  (considerably  augu- 
mented  by  this  time  by  new-comers  drawn  thither  by 
Miss  Forrest's  voice)  was  breaking  up  for  the  night. 
Indians  had  appeared  in  great  numbers  along  the 
North  Platte,  threatening  the  road  connecting  the  two 
posts,  and  a  train  had  been  attacked  and  burned  mid- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  163 

way  between  them.  Terry  and  his  hard-worked  Grays 
were  ready  in  an  hour  to  take  the  trail,  but  there  were 
no  young  gallants  to  ride  forth  this  time.  Hatton,  in 
deed,  offered  his  services,  but  was  told  he  could  not  be 
spared.  Morning  brought  tidings  that  the  war-parties 
were  seen  only  seven  miles  away  at  sunrise;  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  common  foe  the  major,  for  the 
time  being,  put  aside  the  matter  weighing  so  heavily 
on  his  mind,  but  not  for  a  moment  could  he  forget 
her  startled  face  as  he  threw  open  that  door.  It  was 
time  indeed  to  look  the  situation  squarely  through 
and  through.  It  might  be  necessary  to  send  for 
Forrest. 

Another  day  brought  with  it  a  strong  column  of 
cavalry  hastening  up  from  the  railway  at  Cheyenne, 
and  these  troops  were  to  be  fully  provided  with 
rations  and  ammunition  before  setting  forth  toward 
the  Black  Hills,  whither  they  were  ordered.  It  was 
bustle  and  business  for  everybody.  The  major  said 
no  more  to  Hatton  on  the  subject  of  the  interrupted 
interview ;  but  on  the  second  day,  as  McLean  was 
lying  languidly  in  his  bed,  listening  to  the  sounds 
of  hoofs  and  heels  without,  and  bemoaning  his  fate 
that  he  was  to  be  bedridden  here  when  such  stirring 
times  were  ahead,  his  soldier  servant  came  noiselessly 
to  ask  the  lieutenant's  permission  to  step  out  a  little 
while  to  see  some  friends  in  the  cavalry.  The  at- 


164  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

tendant  was  seated  in  the  front  room,  so  the  per 
mission  was  readily  granted. 

"  Is  there  anything  the  lieutenant  wants,  sir,  before 
I  go?" 

"Nothing  except  a  handkerchief.  Give  me  one 
of  those  silk  ones  in  this  corner  of  the  drawer. 
They  are  softer." 

The  man  handed  the  topmost  of  the  pile,  and 
went  noiselessly  away.  McLean  shook  it  open,  and 
a  card  dropped  out  upon  the  coverlet.  Surprised, 
he  picked  it  up  and  slowly  read  it,  perplexity  and 
then  symptoms  of  annoyance  showing  plainly  in  his 
face.  Twice  —  thrice  he  read  it  through.  Then, 
stowing  it  under  his  pillow,  he  began  to  think. 

Dr.  Weeks  came  in  before  a  great  while  to  renew 
the  dressing  on  his  wound,  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
not  been  talking  too  much. 

"I  haven't  been  talking  at  all.  Why  do  you 
ask?" 

"Pulse  a  little  quicker  than  it  was.  What  have 
you  been  doing?" 

"  Nothing — to  speak  of.  What  is  there  to  do  but 
read  and  think?" 

"  You  mustn't  get  to  fretting  because  you  can't  go 
out  with  every  expedition,  Mac.  We  all  know  you'd 
like  it,  but  you  can't  have  your  pie  and  eat  it.  You 
can't  get  shot  in  one  fight  and  expect  to  get  into  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  165 

next.  If  you'll  keep  quiet  here,  I  think  I  can  put 
you  in  saddle  again  in  a  month, — much  quicker  than 
I  can  poor  Blunt ;  but  you  must  be  patient,  especially 
now  that  you'll  miss  Hatton.  He  goes  out  with  the 
train-guard  to-night." 

"Hatton!     To-night ?"  exclaimed  the  invalid. 

"There  you  go  again,  Mac!  What  a  bundle  of 
tow  you  are,  to  be  sure ;  I  might  just  as  soon  touch 
a  match  to  a  magazine." 

"Doctor,  tell  Hatton  I  want  him, — must  see  him 
before  he  goes." 

"Confound  it,  man,  I  told  him  to  keep  away. 
Why  do  you  want  him?" 

"Because  I  must  see  him.  You'll  have  a  crazy 
man  on  your  hands  if  you  don't."  And  Weeks 
decided  it  best  to  let  this  headstrong  Highlander 
have  his  way. 

That  night,  in  his  field-dress  and  all  ready  to 
start,  Hatton  gently  came  to  his  comrade's  bed 
side. 

"  What  is  it,  old  man  ?"  he  asked.  "  Weeks  told 
me  first  to  slip  away  without  saying  good-by, — I'll 
only  be  gone  a  week, — and  then  hunted  me  up  and 
said  you  wanted  to  see  me." 

McLean  looked  out  in  the  front  room. 

"  Send  that  man  away  for  a  while,"  he  said. 

"  Now  for  it,"  groaned  Hatton,  between  his  teeth. 


166  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Something  new,  and  he's  got  hold  of  it.  How  in 
heaven  am  I  to  keep  my  story  to  myself?" 

Obediently  at  a  word  from  Hatton,  the  hospital 
attendant  took  his  cap  and  stepped  outside.  Then 
McLean  put  forth  his  hand  and  took  that  of  the 
senior  lieutenant. 

"Hat,  you  and  I  have  been  good  friends,  haven't 
we?" 

"Always,  Mac." 

"Fve  something  to  ask  you.  Something  I  must 
know.  You  remember  the  night  we  burned  that 
handkerchief?" 

"I  should  say  so." 

"Have  you  ever  seen — have  you  ever  known  of 
her  ever  being  in  here — or  around  here  since?" 

Hatton  hesitated. 

"  Tell  me,  Hat." 

"I  can't  tell  you,  Mac.  There's  been  the  devil 
to  pay.  Some  other  things  stolen.  Miller's  got 
hold  of  it,  and,  old  man,  I'm  thankful  I'm  going, 
for  I'd  have  to  tell  what  we  know." 

"  Great  God !  and  Forrest  two  weeks'  march  away, 
— least  count !  See  here,  Hat !  To-day  I  found  some 
thing  among  my  handkerchiefs — in  a  missing  one  that 
was  returned.  Do  you  know  how  it  got  there?" 

"  Yes,"  slowly.  "  She  herself  gave  it  to  me  and 
asked  me  to  put  it  there." 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  167 

"You  don't  mean  it!  How  could  she,  without 
exciting  more  suspicion?  She  must  have  known  it 
would  only  make  you  connect  her  with  what  had 
happened  here." 

"Mac, — old  man;  it's  no  use!  I  can't  keep  it 
back  from  you.  Why !  She  was  reckless  of  any 
thing  I  might  think.  It  has  gone  far  beyond  sus 
picion.  It  is  certainty.  She  was  on  the  watch  the 
night  Miller  came  here  for  me.  It  was  her  dress — 
her  steps  you  heard  in  the  hall.  It  may  be  klepto 
mania, — God  knows;  but  whatever  it  is,  she  threw 
off  all  disguise.  She  listened  to  Miller's  orders  that 
I  should  come  to  him  at  tattoo;  and  then,  the 
moment  he  was  gone,  down  she  flew  to  where  I 
stood  there  at  the  door,  and  implored  me,  Mac,  as  I 
would  save  her  from  disgrace  and  ruin  not  to  go — 
not  to  tell  him." 

"  And  she  was  not  out  of  her  mind  ?" 

"  She  is  as  sane  as  you  or  I,  Mac,  except  on  that 
one  thing." 


XIII. 

FOR  several  days  after  Hatton's  sudden  departure 
Lieutenant  McLean  was  worse.  High  fever  had  set 
in,  and  Dr.  "Weeks  hardly  knew  how  to  account  for  it. 
Mrs.  Miller,  kind  soul,  had  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
come  over  and  help  nurse  him,  and  was  more  than 
perplexed  when,  having  easily  obtained  the  approval 
of  the  post  surgeon,  she  was  met  by  a  most  embar 
rassed  but  earnest  negative  on  the  part  of  his  assistant. 
As  "Weeks  was  in  charge  of  the  case,  Dr.  Bayard's 
sense  of  professional  etiquette  would  not  permit  of  his 
opposing  his  junior  in  the  matter,  but  did  not  prevent 
his  expressing  himself  as  surprised  and  annoyed  at 
what  he  termed  a  slight  to  the  wife  of  the  command 
ing  officer.  The  lady  herself  could  not  refrain  from 
telling  her  husband  and  making  some  trenchant  criti 
cisms  at  the  expense  of  the  younger  physician ;  and, 
as  a  result  of  her  remarks,  Old  Miller  decided  to  do 
a  thing  to  which,  hitherto,  he  had  always  declared 
himself  averse, — namely,  to  require  of  his  surgical 
staff  a  defence  of  their  policy  in  the  matter.  He 
would  not  do  this  formally  or  officially,  but  he  meant 
to  ask  Dr.  Bayard  at  once  what  possible  objection 
there  could  be  to  Mrs.  Miller's  looking  in  on  the 
168 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  169 

young  officer  and  doing  what  she  could  to  promote 
his  comfort.  She  was  welcome  to  go  to  Blunt's 
bedside,  she  told  him,  and  Mr.  Blunt's  wounds  were 
of  a  more  severe  character  than  those  of  the  young 
infantryman,  whom  she  was  virtually  forbidden  to 
see. 

Miller's  honest  heart  was  filled  full  of  perplexities 
and  cares  at  this  time,  and  the  best  of  men  are  apt  to 
be  a  trifle  irritable  under  such  conditions.  His  brow 
was  moody  and  his  step  more  energetic  than  usual,  as 
he  sallied  forth  in  search  of  his  senior  surgeon,  this 
bright  sunshiny  morning.  No  one  was  on  the  Bay 
ards'  piazza,  but  the  front  door  was  open,  and,  hearing 
subdued  voices  in  the  parlor,  he  ventured  to  step  in 
side  and  tap  at  the  inner  door  which  also  stood  ajar. 
It  was  at  once  thrown  wide  open  by  Janet  Bruce, 
whose  bonnie  face  lighted  up  with  pleasure  at  sight 
of  him ;  she  had  always  been  a  favorite  of  his  from 
the  days  when  she  was  a  romping  maid  in  short 
dresses. 

"Why,  Major  Miller!  Come  right  in.  Nellie 
will  be  so  glad  to  see  you." 

"  What !  Is  Nellie  here  ?"  he  asked,  and  stepping 
into  the  parlor,  the  gloom  vanishing  from  his  face  at 
sight  of  those  smiling  eyes,  he  marched  over  to  the 
sofa  where  Elinor  lay,  holding  forth  to  him  a  white 
and  fragile  hand. 

H  15 


170  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

11  Why,  bless  your  heart,  little  lady  !  I'm  rejoiced 
to  see  you  down-stairs  again/'  he  cheerily  said. 
"  We've  all  been  in  the  dumps  ever  since  you  were 
taken  ill  and  remanded  to  bed.  And  now  I  suppose 
you  and  Janet  here  have  been  condoling  with  each 
other.  With  McLean  invalided  and  Hatton  on  the 
war-path,  I  fear  me  you  two  young  women  have  been 
indulging  in  tears.  Hah!  Blushing?  Well,  well,  I 
only  wish  I  were  Mac  or  Hatton  either.  Enviable 
fellows,  both  of  them,  to  have  two  such  pretty  girls 
in  mourning  for  their  mishaps.  But  all  the  same, 
don't  you  lose  your  hearts  to  those  boys ;  neither  of 
'em  is  worth  it."  And  the  major  chuckled  at  the  idea 
of  being  quizzical  and  arch. 

"  Indeed,  Major  Miller/'  retorted  Miss  Bruce,  with 
reddening  cheeks  and  spirited  mien.  "  We're  not 
in  mourning  at  all,  though  I'm  not  a  whit  ashamed 
of  my  anxiety  about  our  friends ;  but  as  for  calling 
them  boys,  Mr.  Hatton  is  ten  years  older  than  you 
were  when  you  were  married, — Mrs.  Miller  told  me 
so, — and  Mr.  McLean  has  been  too  many  years  in  the 
service  to  be  spoken  of  disparagingly.  Have  you 
heard  how  he  is  this  morning?"  she  asked,  with  a 
sudden  change  from  rebuke  to  anxious  inquiry,  flash 
ing  a  quick  glance  at  his  half-averted  face  as  she 
questioned. 

"  Not   for   two   hours.     I   had    hoped   to  find  Dr. 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  171 

Bayard  here.  Do  you  know  where  he  is,  Miss 
Nellie?" 

"  He  said  he  was  going  to  the  hospital,  major,"  was 
the  hesitant  reply,  "  but  I  think  he  stopped  at  Bedlam, 
— at  Mrs.  Forrest's,  perhaps." 

"  Ah — yes,  I  remember.  Mrs.  Forrest  does  not  get 
well  rapidly.  Has  Miss  Forrest  been  over  to  see  you 
since  you  came  down-stairs?" 

"  She  called,  but  papa  had  desired  me  to  keep  very 
quiet.  Janet  was  reading  to  me,  and  she  went  to  the 
door  and  saw  her." 

The  major  decided  to  press  the  question  no  further. 
Something  in  the  manner  of  both  girls  told  him 
the  subject  was  hardly  congenial.  He  remained  a 
few  moments  chatting  with  them,  and  noted  with 
paternal  solicitude  the  languor  and  lack  of  interest 
in  Nellie  Bayard's  drooping  eyes  and  the  unmis 
takable  signs  of  anxiety  and  trouble  in  her  sweet 
face.  "My  wife  is  right,"  he  muttered  to  himself; 
"she  always  is,  in  such  things  at  least," — for  with 
masculine  perversity  he  could  not  vouchsafe  a  sweep 
ing  verdict  as  to  a  woman's  infallibility^  "  There  is 
small  chance  here  for  Holmes,"  he  mentally  added. 
"  I  only  wish  young  McLean  were  out  of  his  troubles." 
And  the  Doctor's  hearty  voice  was  heard  without,  and 
the  tread  of  feet,  and  the  next  moment  Bayard  was 
in  the  hall-way  eagerly  welcoming  a  visitor.  Miller 


172  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

saw  the  glance  that  passed  between  the  girls  and  the 
instant  cloud  of  distress  ths,f:  overspread  Nellie's  face. 
It  was  Roswell  Holmes  again. 

"  Why  !  When  did  you  get  back  ?"  exclaimed  the 
major,  rising.  "  We  had  no  idea  of  this.  I  supposed 
you  would  go  direct  to  Cheyenne  from  the  ranch." 

"It  was  my  intention,  major/'  answered  Mr. 
Holmes,  with  grave  courtesy,  "but  letters  I  re 
ceived  made  it  preferable  that  I  should  come  back 
here,  and  the  doctor  kindly  gives  me  an  abiding- 
place.  Excuse  me,"  and  he  passed  the  major  by  and 
went  on  and  bent  over  the  sofa  and  took  Miss  Bay 
ard's  hand  and  greeted  her  with  tender  intonation 
in  every  word,  even  while  he  bowed  pleasantly  to 
Miss  Bruce. 

"Quite  a  surprise,  wasn't  it?"  asked  Dr.  Bayard 
from  the  door-way.  "Major,  I'm  glad  to  see  you 
here  this  morning,  and  no  doubt  Nellie  welcomed 
you,  though  she  isn't  able  to  play  the  hostess  just 
yet.  We'll  have  her  up  and  about  in  a  day  or  two, 
though.  Holmes,  old  fellow,  you  can  safely  hang 
your  traps  in  the  hall  now.  I've  had  that  latch 
tinkered  up  since  the  night — the  night  of  the  dinner. 
Whoever  opened  it  that  night  will  get  fooled  on  it 
the  next  time  he  tries.  I  had  quite  a  row  with 
Robert  about  it,  and  the  conceit  was  taken  out  of 
him  not  a  little." 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  173 

"  Why,  how  was  this,  doctor  ?"  asked  Miller,  with 
immediate  interest.  "I  had  not  heard.  Are  there 
— have  there  been  any  new  developments?"  And 
lowering  his  voice  as  he  asked,  the  major  drew  the 
post  surgeon  into  the  hall-way. 

"Nothing  of  consequence,  major.  Of  course  we 
all  felt  uncomfortable  when  it  was  known  that 
Holmes  had  lost  a  porte-monnaie  from  his  overcoat- 
pocket  as  it  hung  here  on  the  rack  that  night. 
Though  he  protests  there  was  nothing  in  it,  the  thing 
might  have  been  serious.  You  remember  you  thought 
the  hall-door  had  been  opened  during  our  dinner.  I 
believe  I  was  telling  some  story  or  other  at  the  time, 
— bad  habit  of  mine, — and  we  sent  Robert  out  to 
look,  He  came  back  and  said  it  was  tight  shut,  and 
couldn't  have  been  open,  because  he  had  fixed  it  so 
that  the  latch  could  not  be  turned  from  outside. 
But  Holmes  showed  us  next  day  that  it  could  be." 

"Then  you  think  it  had  been  tampered  with, — 
that  some  garrison  sneak-thief  had  got  in?" 

"  Well,  that's  what  Holmes  says  and  what  Robert 
stoutly  maintains,  though  you  can't  see  a  scratch  or 
a  mark  or  anything  to  indicate  that  such  means  had 
been  used.  No,  major,"  and  the  doctor  shook  his 
head  ominiously.  "I — I  have  another  theory,  but 
it's  one  too  shadowy,  too  unsubstantial  to  speak  of. 
It  is  nothing  but  suspicion." 


174  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

And  Miller  would  not  ask  him  what  it  was.  Well 
knowing  how  the  doctor  had  been  devoting  himself 
to  Miss  Forrest,  it  was  with  nothing  short  of  amaze 
that  the  old  soldier  now  heard  him  speak.  After 
all  his  wife  had  told  him,  whom  could  Bayard  mean 
but  the  Queen  of  Bedlam? 

Abruptly  the  major  changed  the  subject,  even 
while  thinking  how  in  his  own  experience  he  had 
had  receut  opportunity  to  realize  the  truth  of  what 
the  doctor  said.  Somebody  had  indeed  "got  fooled 
on  that  latch"  the  night  he  sat  there  in  the  dim 
light  of  the  doctor's  library, — somebody  who  evi 
dently  expected  to  enter  as  readily  as  before,  and 
had  worked  ineffectually  for  several  minutes  before 
abandoning  the  attempt,  and  then  only  to  be  caught 
in  the  act  and  unblushingly  to  repudiate  the  same. 

"  Bayard,"  said  the  major,  "  I  am  the  last  man  to 
interfere  in  the  details  of  my  subordinates'  manage 
ment  of  affairs,  but  there's  a  matter  I  want  to  ask 
you  about  while  we  are  out  here.  What  is  the  reason 
Dr.  Weeks  refuses  to  let  Mrs.  Miller  go  in  and  see 
McLean?  She  has  been  always  very  fond  of  him, 
and  naturally  wants  to  be  of  service  now.  Of  course, 
if  there  be  any  good  and  sufficient  reason,  I've  noth 
ing  to  say,  but  I  think  I've  a  right  to  know." 

Bayard  hesitated  a  moment.  "Come  out  here  on 
the  piazza,  major,"  he  presently  said.  "I  don't 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  175 

want  them  to  hear  in  the  parlor."  And  together  the 
two  officers  walked  over  to  the  wooden  railing  and 
stood  there  looking  at  each  other.  It  was  evident 
to  the  post  commander  in  an  instant  that  what  his 
surgeon  had  to  tell  was  something  of  no  little  im 
portance  and  something,  furthermore,  that  he  shrank 
from  mentioning.  Bayard's  eyes  fell  before  the  ma 
jor's  earnest  and  troubled  gaze;  he  was  plainly 
studying  how  to  put  his  information  fairly  and  with 
out  prejudice.  Suddenly  he  looked  up. 

"  First,  while  we  are  on  the  subject,  let  me  finish 
about  this  latch  business,  major.  It  is  not  entirely — 
entirely  irrelevant  to  the  other  matter.  You  see  I 
had  to  tell  Robert  why  we  made  such  particular 
inquiries  about  the  door.  Now  the  boy  has  been 
with  me  for  years,  and  came  to  me  with  a  most  un 
blemished  character.  Why,  he  was  body-servant  for 
the  adjutant  and  quartermaster  of  the  First  Artil 
lery  in  the  lively  old  days  at  Fort  Hamilton,  and 
had  unlimited  opportunities  for  peculation ;  but  those 
gentlemen  said  he  was  simply  above  suspicion.  But 
he  is  sensitive,  and  it  worried  him  fearfully  lest  Mr. 
Holmes  should  think  he  or  some  of  his  assistants 
in  the  kitchen  had  been  searching  those  pockets. 
Now  it  was  simply  on  his  account — to  convince  him 
it  was  somebody  from  outside  that  surreptitiously 
entered  the  hall  while  we  were  all  at  dinner— that 


176  THE   QUEEN   OF  BEDLAM. 

Holmes  took  the  trouble  to  test  the  latch,  and  with 
a  little  bit  of  stiff  wire  he  showed  us  how  Robert's 
device  could  be  circumvented." 

"And  Holmes  has  no  doubt  it  was  so  accom 
plished?"  asked  the  major,  tentatively. 

Bayard  looked  embarrassed.  "I  cannot  say  just 
what  he  does  think,  major,  because  he  utterly  re 
fuses  to  speak  of  it.  He  said  it  was  absurd  to  make 
such  an  ado  about  nothing,  and  declared  he  would 
be  seriously  annoyed  if  I  pursued  the  subject." 

"  But  you  admit  you  have  a  theory  of  your  own  ?"  • 
and  Miller  keenly  eyed  his  medical  officer  as  though 
striving  to  read   beneath    that   smooth   and   polished 
surface. 

"  I  have  what  might  be  called  an  hypothesis,  a 
vague  theory,  and  a  suspicion  that  would  be  entirely 
intangible  but  for  one  or  two  little  things  that  have 
recently  come  to  my  knowledge." 

"And  those  little  things  point  to  an  inmate  of 
the  garrison,  do  they  not?"  asked  Miller,  with  as 
much  nonchalance  as  he  could  assume. 

"I  fear  so,"  was  the  doctor's  answer.  "But  you 
asked  why  Mrs.  Miller  was  urged  not  to  come  to  Mr. 
McLean's  room  just  yet ;  that  is  the  way  Weeks  put 
it  to  me  when  I  overhauled  him,  which  I  did  at  the 
moment  the  matter  came  to  my  ears.  Rest  assured  I 
was  quite  as  ready  to  take  umbrage  at  his  action, — 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  177 

more  so,  rather,  than  you  could  have  been.  But, 
major,  could  you  have  heard  his  explanation,  you 
yourself  would  have  been  the  first  to  say  no  one  but 
his  physician  should  be  allowed  to  stay  there.  Weeks 
even  sent  the  hospital  nurse  away,  and  sat  up  with 
him  all  night  himself." 

"Has  he  been  delirious?" 

"  Yes,  and  in  his  delirium  he  has  been  talking  of 
things  that  have  completely  stampeded  poor  Weeks. 
Of  course  he  could  not  give  me  the  faintest  inkling 
of  what  they  were,  and  I  would  not  ask ;  but  they 
were  of  such  a  character  that  they  should  be  treated 
as  sacred  confidences,  and  Weeks  said  to  me  that  no 
court-martial  could  drag  them  from  his  lips.  He 
would  resign  first.  It  was  for  fear  his  patient  might 
continue  the  subject  in  her  presence  that  Weeks  begged 
Mrs.  Miller  not  to  think  of  coming  to  nurse  him  yet 
awhile.  He  assures  me  that  the  moment  the  fever 
subsides  he  will  be  glad  to  have  her  aid,  for  he  looks 
worn-out  now.  Were  not  his  reasons  cogent?" 

Miller  bowed  his  head.  "I  had  not  thought  of 
this,"  he  said ;  "  Mrs.  Miller  will  be  as  sorry  as  I 
am  to  hear  of  it,  and,  of  course,  she  will  appreciate 
the  reasons.  Did  Weeks  tell  you  when  this  delirium 
began?" 

"The  night  after  Hatton  left,  or,  rather,  very 
early  in  the  morning  of  the  next  day.  He  had  been 


178  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

alarmed  at  McLean's  symptoms  during  the  evening, 
and  ordered  the  nurse  to  wake  him  if  he  saw  any  in 
dications  of  delirium.  The  man  came  to  him  at  three 
in  the  morning  and  said  the  lieutenant  was  wild. 
Weeks  went  over  at  once, — and  ten  minutes  after  he 
got  there  he  sent  the  attendant  away,  and  shut  him 
self  up  with  his  patient." 

The  major  pondered  a  moment.  "  Is  the  man  close- 
mouthed?  Do  you  think  he  could  have  heard  much 
of  anything  before  he  was  sent  away  ?" 

"I  know  very  little  about  him.  He  is  a  member 
of  Captain  Bruce's  company  and  very  much  attached 
to  the  lieutenant;  so  I  infer  from  what  Weeks  tells 
me.  Even  if  he  had  heard  anything  that  ought  not 
to  leak  out,  it  is  not  likely  this  particular  man  would 
betray  it ;  he  would  say  nothing  that  might  ever  harm 
McLean." 

"  Well,  no !  Not  McLean,  perhaps.  Very  pos 
sibly  he  might  not  know  how  it  would  harm  him  to 
have  his  ravings  repeated.  I  was  thinking — I  could 
not  help  thinking — that  Mac  had  been  talking  about 
— these  recent  thefts  in  garrison." 

"And  there  have  been  more  than  this  one  at  our 
house?"  asked  the  doctor,  with  concern  and  surprise 
mingled  in  his  handsome  face. 

"  Yes,  two  or  three  more,  I  regret  to  say,  but  I  have 
not  full  particulars  yet  and  cannot  speak  of  them." 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  179 

Bayard  clasped  his  hands  with  one  of  the  melo 
dramatic  gestures  so  peculiar  to  him. 

"  My  God  !"  he  muttered.  "  It  was  bad  enough 
as  I  supposed  it,  but  I  had  no  idea  it  had  come  to  such 
a  pass,  as  this." 

"  Bayard,"  said  the  major,  after  a  moment  of  earnest 
thought,  "  this  is  a  matter  that  must  be  handled  with 
the  utmost  care  and  circumspection.  Not  a  vestige  of 
suspicion  must  be  permitted  to  circulate  if  we  can  pre 
vent  it.  I  have  strictly  enjoined  secrecy  upon  my — 
my  informant,  and  I  desire  you  to  regard  this  talk  as 
confidential.  Tell  Weeks  I  appreciate  and  sustain  him 
in  this  caution  and  thank  him  for  his  efforts  to  stifle 
any  possible  scandal.  Poor  Mac!  The  youngster 
would  be  horror-stricken  if  he  knew  what  secrets  he 
had  been  blabbing." 

"His  troubles  must  have  been  weighing  on  his 
mind  a  long  time,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  yet  I  never 
suspected  it.  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  saw  a  blither 
young  fellow  until  about  the  time  the  finding  of  that 
board  of  survey  was  announced.  He  didn't  seem  to 
expect  that  at  all." 

"Well, — neither  did  I.  Of  course,  technically  it 
had  to  go  against  him,  but  we  never  dreamed  it  would 
result  in  stoppage  of  his  pay." 

"  And  yet  his  funds  were  all  right,  I'm  told,"  said 
the  doctor,  musingly.  "  One  would  suppose  that  if 


180  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

he  had  any  tendencies  that  way  they  would  have 
cropped  out  when  he  had  so  much  public  money 
passing  through  his  hands." 

"Tendencies  what  way,  doctor?  I  don't  follow 
you." 

"  Why,  in  the  way  these — these  little  thefts  and  his 
delirious  utterances  would  seem  to  indicate,"  said 
Bayard,  hesitatingly. 

Miller  fairly  sprang  up  from  the  rail  on  which  he 
was  leaning,  his  eyes  distended  with  wonderment  and 
pain. 

"In  God's  name,  Bayard,  what  are  you  talking 
about?"  he  gasped. 

"About  this  sad  case  of  McLean's,  major,  as  I 
supposed  you  were." 

"  You  don't  mean  that  your  theory  involves  him  ? 
You  don't  mean  it — it  is  of  himself,  of  his  connection 
with  these  thefts,  that  he  has  been  telling  in  his 
delirium  ?" 

"Why,  Major  Miller,  I  supposed  of  course  you 
understood — I — I,  of  course,  accuse  nobody,  but  of 
whom  could  he  have  been  talking  about  but  himself? 
That  was  certainly  my  understanding  of  it?" 

For  one  moment  the  old  major  stood  there  looking 
into  the  staff-officer's  eyes, — amaze,  consternation,  dis 
tress,  all  mingled  in  his  florid,  weather-beaten  face. 
Then  without  a  word  he  turned  and  stumbled  away 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  181 

down  the  steps  and  hurried  from  the  gate.  The  trim, 
spruce  orderly,  standing  on  the  walk  without,  raised 
his  gloved  hand  in  salute  and  stood  attention  as  the 
commanding  officer  passed  him,  then  "  fell  in"  ten 
paces  behind  and  followed  in  his  tracks.  But  for  once 
in  his  life  the  major  neither  saw  nor  returned  a  sol 
dier's  respectful  salutation. 


XIV. 

'  THE  fever  had  left  him,  and  Randall  McLean,  very 
white  and  "peaked"  looking,  was  sitting  propped  up 
in  bed  and  enjoying  the  wine-jelly  Mrs.  Miller  had 
brought  with  her  own  hands.  She  had  hoped  to  find 
him  in  better  spirits,  and  was  distressed  to  see  how 
downcast  and  listless  he  was.  Just  what  evil  spell 
had  fallen  upon  the  garrison  Mrs.  Miller  could  not 
explain.  The  major  for  two  or  three  days  had  been 
utterly  unlike  himself,  and  would  give  her  no  good 
reason.  The  cavalry  battalion  that  had  reached  the 
post  and  gone  into  camp  down  on  the  flats  to  the  north 
was  almost  ready  to  push  on  toward  the  Black  Hills, 
and  though  she  had  twice  reminded  him  that  he  ought 
at  least  to  invite  the  field  and  staff  officers  to  dinner, 
her  usually  social  spouse  had  declined,  saying  he  felt 
utterly  unequal  to  it.  The  lethargy  and  gloom  at  post 
"  head- quarters"  seemed  to  pervade  the  entire  garrison. 
Nobody  felt  like  doing  anything  to  dispel  it.  The 
band  played  blithely  enough  at  guard- mounting  and 
again  in  the  sunshiny  afternoons,  but  nobody  came  out 
and  danced  on  the  broad  piazzas  as  used  to  be  the  way 
at  Laraniie.  Nellie  Bayard  was  beginning  to  sit  out 
on  the  veranda  in  a  big  easy-chair  with  Janet  Bruce  as 
182 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  183 

her  constant  companion,  and  the  Gordon  girls,  those 
indomitably  jolly  creatures,  as  occasional  visitors ;  but 
as  Miss  Kate,  the  elder,  expressed  herself,  "  Laramie  is 
nothing  but  one  big  hospital  now.  The  women  and 
children  are  the  only  able-bodied  men  in  it."  Nellie 
was  kind  and  civil,  and  tried  to  be  cordial  to  them,  but 
they  were  "  smart"  enough  to  see  she  had  no  heart  for 
rattling  small  talk  and  crisp  comments  on  matters  and 
things  at  the  post,  and  much  preferred  to  be  left  alone 
to  her  undisturbed  confidential  chats  with  "Bonnie 
Jean."  Blunt  was  slowly  mending,  and  Dr.  Weeks 
was  having  a  little  rest  after  an  anxious  week,  when 
his  services  were  demanded  for  another  patient  in 
Bedlam, — no  less  a  person  than  the  queen  herself. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Dr.  Bayard  was  the  recog 
nized  family  physician  and  had  been  and  was  still 
assiduously  attending  Mrs.  Forrest,  it  was  considered 
nothing  short  of  an  intentional  slight  on  the  young 
lady's  part  that  she  should  send  for  Weeks.  It  was 
Mrs.  Post  who  came  over  to  Blunt's  door  when  she 
knew  the  junior  doctor  was  there,  and  asked  him  to 
come  with  her  and  see  Miss  Forrest.  For  two  days 
the  latter  had  been  confined  to  her  room  refusing  to 

O 

see  any  physician,  and  declaring  that  in  Mrs.  Post's 
ministrations  she  found  all  the  physic  she  needed,  but 
now  the  time  seemed  to  have  come  when  medical  aid 
was  really  necessary.  Dr.  Bayard's  face,  when  he  was 


184  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

told  by  Mrs.  Post  that  Weeks  was  summoned  and  in 
attendance,  was  a  study  worth  seeing.  It  was  not  a 
serious  ailment  at  all,  said  Mrs.  Post.  Miss  Forrest 
had  caught  cold  and  neglected  it,  and  now  the  cold 
had  developed  into  fever,  and  she  had  been  per 
suaded  to  keep  in  bed  for  a  day  or  two. 

But  Mrs.  Miller  was  puzzled  over  still  another 
matter.  The  evening  of  the  day  Mr.  Holmes  so  un 
expectedly  reappeared  at  Laramie,  he  and  Miss  For 
rest  met  on  the  board-walk  near  "  Bedlam,"  had  a  few 
moments'  conversation  there  just  before  gun-fire  at 
retreat,  and  then,  to  the  surprise  of  many  lookers-on, 
she  was  observed  to  take  his  proffered  arm,  and  for 
over  half  an  hour  they  strolled  around  the  deserted 
parade  talking  earnestly  together.  It  was  the  hour 
when  most  of  the  garrison  families  were  in  the  dining- 
rooms,  at  dinner  or  tea  as  might  be  the  custom  of  the 
household ;  but  more  than  one  good  lady  found  it 
necessary  to  pop  up  from  the  table  and  go  to  the  front 
window  to  see  if  Mr.  Holmes  and  Miss  Forrest  were 
still  walking  and  talking  together.  It  was  the  morn 
ing  after  this  mysterious  consultation  that  the  cold 
developed  ;  and  those  kindly  spirits  who  had  promptly 
decided  that  the  handsome  but  penniless  New  York 
girl  was  setting  her  cap  to  cut  out  Nellie  Bayard  with 
the  Chicago  millionaire  were  balked  in  their  hopes  of 
seeing  further  developments  by  the  circumstance  of 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  185 

her  keeping  her  room  and  not  again  meeting  Mr. 
Holmes,  who,  after  two  or  three  days'  visit,  departed 
as  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  as  he  came.  The  pres 
ence  of  a  large  battalion  of  cavalry  had  the  effect  of 
warning  the  Indians  away  from  the  neighborhood  and 
made  travel  again  comparatively  safe. 

And  now,  having  patted  up  his  pillows  and  settled 
him  carefully  back  upon  them,  Mrs.  Miller  had  begun 
the  attempt  of  cheering  her  "pet  lieutenant/'  as  the 
major  had  called  him.  First  she  strove  to  rouse  his 
interest  by  detailing  the  terms  in  which  Captain  Terry 
had  officially  commended  his  gallantry  and  zeal  in  the 
fight  down  at  Royall's  Ford;  but  he  had  heard  it  all 
before  through  Dr.  Weeks,  and,  though  appreciative, 
he  did  not  beam  with  the  comfort  she  expected.  Then 
she  tried  to  tell  him  of  Major  Miller's  warm-hearted 
and  commendatory  endorsement  in  forwarding  Terry's 
report;  but  he  had  heard  of  that  too;  the  adjutant 
had  told  him  about  it,  and  there  was  nothing  new  in 
it.  What  did  it  amount  to,  after  all  ?  said  Mac  to 
himself.  What  good  result  can  follow?  No  matter 
how  zealously  a  fellow  may  serve  in  the  field, — no 
matter  what  dangers  he  may  encounter,  hardships  he 
may  endure,  wounds  he  may  receive,  Indians  he  may 
kill  or  capture, — in  this  blessed  republican  land  of 
ours  the  principle  is  too  well  established  that  promo 
tion  in  the  line  goes  only  by  seniority,  and  to  the 

1G* 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

staff — like  kissing — mainly  by  favor.  Not  even  a 
"  brevet,"  he  well  knew,  could  be  won  by  daring  con 
duct  in  action  against  savage  foes;  and,  to  sum  the 
matter  up  in  a  few  words,  the  men  who  stood  the  best 
chance  for  advancement  in  the  army  were  those  who 
studiously  avoided  excitement  of  any  kind,  especially 
that  to  be  found  in  Western  campaigns.  They  all 
understood  this  thing  at  Laramie  just  as  well  as  he 
did,  and  therefore  appreciated  his  soldierly  conduct  for 
what  it  was  really  worth. 

"  But  the  major  thinks  it  may  be  the  means  of  re 
moving  that  stoppage  against  your  pay,  Mr.  McLean," 
said  Mrs.  Miller.  "  Surely  the  general  will  do  some 
thing  to  secure  recognition  or  reward." 

"  I  fear  not,  Mrs.  Miller,"  was  the  doleful  answer ; 
"that  is  just  about  the  last  thing  this  government  of 
ours  is  apt  to  do ;  what  I've  got  before  me  is  the  pros 
pect  of  having  to  live  for  a  year  or  more  on  ( board 
wages/  and  see  my  pay  raked  in  month  after  month 
to  make  up  for  the  stealings  of  a  rascal  too  sharp 
for  any  of  us  even  to  suspect.  It  would  be  hard 
at  any  time,  but — it's  rough  now,  and  no  mistake." 
And  poor  Mac  turned  his  head  away  as  he  spoke. 

There  was  silence  a  moment.  The  womanly  heart 
was  touched  at  his  despair  and  suffering,  yet  impotent 
to  cheer  him.  Suddenly  she  bent  over  him  as  he  lay 
there,  so  white  and  weary  looking. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  187 

"Mac,  don't,  don't  worry  so.  I  can't  bear  to  see 
you  troubled.  I  know — I  can't  help  knowing — 
what's  the  matter;  and  indeed, — indeed  I  think  you 
have  cause  to  hope  rather  than  despair.  Did  you 
know  he  had  gone  away  again  ?" 

"Yes.     Weeks  told  me." 

"She  cares  ^nothing  whatever  for  him.  Janet 
Bruce  is  with  her  all  the  time,  Mac,  and  she  told 
me  she  almost  shrank  from  him.  Now,  if  he  were 
simply  her  father's  friend,  she  could  not  but  like 
him.  Everybody  likes  him,  Mac,  and  I  have  reason 
to  know  what  a  considerate  and  thorough  gentleman 
he  is.  But  it  is  because  he  has  attempted  to  be  more 
that  she  has  turned  against  him,  and  Janet  says  she 
knows  he  has  seen  it  and  made  up  his  mind  to  accept 
it  as  final.  The  last  two  days  of  his  visit  he  avoided 
her  all  the  time,  only  conversed  with  her  when  they 
were  unavoidably  thrown  together,  and  was  then 
simply  bright  and  laughing  and  friendly.  Janet 
says  that  Nellie  seemed  inexpressibly  relieved  by  the 
change  in  his  manner.  Come,  old  fellow,  cheer  up 
and  get  well,  and  let  us  have  you  out  in  the  sun 
shine  a  day  or  two,  and  then  we'll  see  if  a  few  long 
talks  with  her  won't  help  matters.  She's  a  child 
yet,  and  almost  too  young  to  fall  in  love  with  any 
body.  You  know  she  has  seen  next  to  nothing  of 
the  world." 


188  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"That  is  just  what  stings  and  torments  me  so, 
Mrs.  Miller,"  answered  McLean,  with  unexpected 
energy.  "  That  is  what  weighs  upon  my  heart  and 
soul.  She  has  seen  very  little  of  the  world.  She  is 
young,  inexperienced,  and  motherless.  Her  father 
does  not  like  me,  and  I  know  it,  and  simply  because 
he  saw  my  deep  interest  in  her,  and,  having  other 
views,  he  was  determined  to  break  it  off  in  the  bud. 
What  possible  right  have  I— poor,  friendless,  utterly 
without  position  or  influence,  saddled  with  this  moun 
tain  of  uncontracted  debt — to  seek  to  win  such  a  girl 
as  she  for  my  wife?  What  have  I  to  offer  but  mis 
fortune  and  trouble?  No,  Mrs.  Miller,  it  is  all  use 
less.  If  I  have  stood  between  her  and  such  a  future 
as  he  could  offer  her,  God  forgive  me.  I  did  not 
know  the  millstone  that  was  to  be  hung  about  my 
neck.  I  did  not  dream  of  his  existence.  I  just 
drifted  in,  and  now  I  could  pray  heaven  she  hasn't." 

Again  he  turned  away,  with  something  very  like  a 
sob  in  his  weak  voice,  and  buried  his  face  in  his 
arm. 

"  Mac/'  she  persisted,  "  I'm  not  going  to  sit  here 
and  see  you  accusing  yourself  of  wrong-doing  in  this 
way.  Let  me  tell  you  that  if  she  does  care  for  you, 
and  I  believe  she  does,  Nellie  Bayard  would  rather 
be  your  wife  in  one  room  and  a  kitchen  than  live 
in  opulence  in  New  York  or  Chicago.  What's  more, 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  189 

she  would  wait  for  you  loyally,  faithfully,  until  you 
were  thoroughly  on  your  feet  again,  with  this  debt 
paid  and  a  little  laid  by.  As  for  Dr.  Bayard's  plans 
for  her,  he  is  worldly  enough,  of  course,  to  seek  such 
wealth  as  Eoswell  Holtnes's  for  his  daughter ;  but  the 
man  himself  is  changing  his  mind.  You  should  have 
seen  him  devoting  himself  to  Miss  Forrest  out  here 
one  evening.  Now,  there's  a  girl  who  would  appre 
ciate  his  money  and  spend  it  for  him  like  a  duchess." 

But  McLean  was  silent. 

"  Did  you  get  to  know  her  at  all  well  ?"  asked 
Mrs.  Miller  presently. 

"Very  slightly  indeed." 

"  And  yet,  living  in  the  same  building  with  her, 
as  you  and  Mr.  Hatton  did,  I  fancied  you  would  see 
her  quite  frequently." 

"I  didn't.     I  believe  Hat  did." 

"Yes — his  rooms  being  up-stairs,  and  opening  on 
that  gallery  where  she  used  to  promenade  so  much, 
it  was  natural  that  he  should  see  more  of  her.  It 
worried  Jeannie  Bruce  not  a  little.  I  never  knew 
whether  she  cared  for  Mr.  Hatton  or  not  until  Miss 
Forrest  took  to  parading  up  and  down  in  front  of 
his  rooms." 

"Hat  says  she  never  came  as  far  as  his  window. 
She  turned  about  before  she  reached  the  hall-door 
always." 


190  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Tell  me,  Mac.  Do  you  think  Mr.  Hatton  liked 
her?" 

McLean's  pale  face  flushed  a  little.  He  felt  that 
questions  were  trembling  on  her  lips  which  he  did 
not  wish  to  answer,  and  the  one  thing  he  could  not 
do  was  equivocate. 

"I'd  rather  you'd  wait  and  ask  him,"  he  finally 
said. 

"Oh!  I  don't  mean  as  he  likes  Janet  Bruce; 
what  I  meant  was — well,  you  or  he  or  both  of  you 
— did  you  feel  that  you — well — trusted  her?" 

McLean  fairly  squirmed  in  his  nest  tinder  the 
sheets.  This  was  just  the  drift  he  had  dreaded. 
How  he  wished  Weeks  would  come  in  and  tell  her 
they  were  talking  too  much  and  would  be  sure  to 
throw  him  into  a  fever  again,  but  no  Weeks  was  to 
be  had ;  he  had  gone  home  for  a  rest,  and  probably 
would  not  appear  again  until  afternoon.  He  glanced 
uneasily  into  the  front  room. 

"No!  The  hospital  attendant  is  not  there,  Mac. 
I  sent  him  off  on  an  errand.  You  need  not  be 
afraid  of  his  hearing, — and,  besides,  he  has  heard 
you  talk  about  her.  I  thought  you  ought  to  know." 

"Has  heard  me  talk  about  her, — Miss  Forrest? 
What  on  earth  do  you  mean,  Mrs.  Miller?"  And 
now  he  had  turned  toward  her,  his  face  filled  with 
anxiety  and  alarm. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  191 

"  Don't  worry,  Mac.  I  found  it  out  instantly.  You 
:now  he  is  a  married  man,  and  his  wife  has  been  my 
lundress  for  over  five  years.  You  talked  about  her 
when  you  were  delirious, — not  very  much, — nothing 
— nothing  I  did  not  already  know;  but  Dr.  Weeks 
turned  him  away  and  took  care  of  you  from  the  mo 
ment  Lachlan  went  for  him  and  told  him  you  were 
talking  wild,  and  of  course  his  wife  wormed  out  of 
him  why  he  was  not  needed  for  two  days,  and,  little 
by  little,  what  you  had  said.  Luckily  she  came  right 
to  me,  and  I  put  a  stopper  on  her  tongue." 

"My  God!  My  God!  What  have  I  done?" 
moaned  McLean,  as  he  threw  his  arm  over  his  eyes. 
"What  did  I  say?  What  have  I  revealed,  Mrs. 
Miller?  I  must  know." 

"Nothing;  again  I  assure  you,  nothing  that  we — 
that  is — I — did  not  already  have  good  cause  to  suspect 
and  know.  It  came  to  me  from  Robinson,  Mac,  before 
you  dreamed  of  anything  of  the  kind,  so  you  are  in 
no  wise  responsible.  She  must  have  a  mania,  there's 
no  other  explanation  for  it ;  but  we're  going  to  keep 
it  all  quiet.  No  one  is  to  know  until  Captain  For 
rest  gets  back  at  the  end  of  the  campaign.  Then  he 
will  be  told,  and  restitution  be  made.  But  isn't  it 
dreadful  ?" 

For  all-  answer  McLean  would  only  shake  his  head. 
He  was  stunned — horrified  at  thought  of  the  wild 


192  THE    QUEEN   OF  BEDLAM. 

revelation  lie  had  made.  He  could  not  bear  to  speak 
of  it.  Yet  now  he  felt  that  he  must  know  how  much 
he  had  let  fall. 

"  It  is  the  last  time  that  fellow  Lachlan  shall  enter 
this  room/7  he  muttered  between  his  teeth.  "  I'll 
have  Weeks  send  him  back  to  his  company  this  very 


"No,  don't  blame  Lachlan.  The  poor  fellow  meant 
no  harm.  He  only  told  it  as  evidence  of  the  ex 
tremity  of  your  delirium.  He  does  not  dream  the 
truth  with  regard  to  her,  though  I  fear  his  wife  does. 
Why,  Mac,  if  they  had  not  come  away  from  Robinson 
when  they  did,  the  whole  post  would  have  been  in  an 
uproar.  Things  were  disappearing  all  the  time,  — 
money  and  valuables,  —  and  since  they  left  there  it 
has  all  stopped,  but  has  begun  here.  You  and  Mr. 
Hatton  are  not  the  only  losers.  Mr.  Holmes  confessed 
to  me  that  his  porte-mounaie  had  been  stolen  from  his 
fur  overcoat  the  night  we  were  there  at  the  doctor's, 
and  I  saw  her  standing  by  it,  patting  it  and  pretending 
to  admire  it  ;  and  I  know  that  she  has  been  sending 
registered  letters  away,  and  that  bills  are  constantly 
coming  to  her  from  the  East.  Mrs.  Griffin  told  me 
so.  And  then  Mr.  Hatton  —  well,  you  know  he  has 
confided  in  me  in  ever  so  many  things  —  he  told  me 
a  good  deal  before  he  went  away.  No,  indeed,  Mac. 
It  isn't  that  you  have  revealed  anything  I  did  not 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  193 

know.  It  is  only  that  I  felt  you  ought  to  be  told  of 
it." 

But  McLean  could  not  be  comforted.  "Who  else 
knows  of  this?"  he  presently  asked. 

"  I  have  told  the  major.  We  had  talked  it  all  over 
before  your  illness.  Mrs.  Bruce  knows,  for  she  too 
gets  letters  from  Robinson.  And  perhaps  there  are 
one  or  two  who  suspect,  but  that  is  all.  Mr.  Hatton 
is  the  one  who  knows  most  about  it  all,  and  has  most 
reason  to  believe  in  her  guilt.  When  did  you  become 
convinced  ?" 

"  I  don't  know, — that  night  Hatton  told  me,  I  sup 
pose, — the  night  the  major  came  to  see  me,  and  Hatton 
begged  off.  You  know  about  it?" 

"  The  major  told  me  he  had  gone  to  see  you  about 
some  evidence  you  had ;  Mr.  Hatton  met  him  at  the 
door  and  explained  that  you  were  asleep.  Was  that 
the  night  you  mean,  Mr.  McLean?  Was  that  the 
night  that  you  became  convinced  that  she  was  the 
thief?" 

"That  was  the  night." 

"But  what  happened  then  to  convince  you?  I 
ought  to  know.  It  is  far  better  that  I  should  know 
than  have  this  cruel  half  belief." 

"  I — Mrs.  Miller,  forgive  me,  but  it  is  a  matter  I 
cannot  speak  of.  Hatton  and  I  '  shook  hands'  on  it 
we  would  say  nothing  to  any  one  of  our  knowledge, 
i  n  17 


194  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

and  I  cannot  speak  of  it.  Wait  until  he  returns.  He 
ought  to  be  back  to-morrow.  You  know  he  only 
went  with  the  guard  to  the  stockade  up  on  Sage  Creek. 
It's  only  three  days'  march.  If  he  will  tell  you,  well 
and  good ;  but  I  will  not  say  anything  more, — -just 
now,  at  any  rate." 

There  came  a  quick  step  along  the  wooden  -piazza 
without,  a  tap  at  the  door,  and  Dr.  Weeks  peered  in. 
Glancing  over  her  shoulder,  Mrs.  Miller  saw  that  his 
face  was  white, — that  he  was  beckoning  to  her;  and 
she  presently  arose  and  went  into  the  front  room. 
She  heard  hoof-beats  passing  the  house  at  a  rapid  trot. 
She  heard  hurrying  feet  and  excited  voices,  and  then 
the  young  doctor  stretched  forth  his  hand  at  the  door 
way  and  led  her  into  the  hall. 

"  Stay  with  McLean  as  much  as  you  can,  and  keep 
this  from  him  if  possible.  A  courier  is  just  in  who 
got  through,  God  knows  how,  during  the  night. 
Hatton  and  his  party  were  corralled  yesterday  beyond 
Rawhide  Butte.  Several  of  them  are  killed  already. 
The  cavalry  start  at  once,  and  I  go  with  them." 


XV. 

FOE  a  man  who  prided  himself  on  the  ease  and 
self-possession  which  made  him  so  distinguished  a 
feature  in  society,  Dr.  Bayard  could  not  but  confess  to 
himself  that  the  sudden  orders  which  sent  his  assistant 
away  left  him  in  a  somewhat  embarrassing  position. 
The  care  of  Weeks's  patients  now  devolved  upon  the 
senior,  and  among  these  patients  was  one  who  much 
needed  his  attention,  but  whom  he  shrank  from  seeing, 
— Randall  McLean, — and  another  whom  he  greatly 
desired  to  attend,  but  who  shrank  from  seeing  him, — 
Miss  Forrest. 

Mrs.  Miller  was  still  at  the  bedside  of  the  former 
when  Dr.  Bayard  nerved  himself  to  make  the  neces 
sary  call.  To  his  great  relief,  the  young  soldier  had 
fallen  into  a  fitful  doze  and  was  unconscious  of  his 
presence.  Mrs.  Miller,  in  low  tones,  described  his 
condition;  and  the  doctor  was  content  to  go  without 
other  examination,  though  he  left  directions  with  the 
attendant  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  when  the  patient 
awaked.  Next  he  repaired  to  Mrs.  Forrest's  rooms, 
and  was  measurably  soothed  and  flattered  by  her  ap 
preciative  reception.  He  bade  her  pay  lio  attention  to 
the  rumors  rushing  through  the  post,  and  dinned  into 

195 


196  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

her  affrighted  ears  by  Celestine,  as  to  the  probable  fate 
of  Hatton  and  his  little  command.  He  pointed  out 
to  her,  as  he  had  to  other  ladies  whom  he  had  been 
summoned  to  attend  that  gruesome  afternoon,  that  it 
was  not  the  first  time  Mr.  Hatton  had  been  "cor 
ralled"  by  the  Sioux,  and  that  he  had  always  success 
fully  kept  them  at  respectful  distance,  and  his  own 
command  under  cover,  until  the  rescuers  in  shape  of 
cavalry  could  reach  the  scene.  It  is  true  that  in  this 
instance  the  attack  seemed  to  have  been  fierce  and 
sudden,  and  the  courier  gave  the  names  of  two  men 
who  were  killed  instantly ;  but,  said  he,  as  that  attack 
was  repelled,  and  Hatton  lost  no  time  in  getting  his 
men  into  a  little  hollow,  he  believed  and  Major  Miller 
believed  that  they  could  "  stand  off"  the  Indians  in 
definitely.  The  cavalry  would  certainly  reach  them 
early  in  the  morning,  and  that  would  be  the  end  of  it. 
Forty-two  hours  wasn't  very  long  compared  with 
other  sieges  those  infantrymen  had  sustained  in  escort 
ing  trains  through  the  Indian  country,  and,  if  they 
only  had  water  for  their  wounded,  all  would  go  well. 
There  was  the  main  trouble,  said  the  doctor.  What 
with  the  Niobrara  and  the  Rawhide  and  the  little 
streams  running  into  them,  and  the  spring  at  Box 
Elder,  close  to  the  road,  there  was  so  much  water 
along  the  route  that  possibly  they  had  neglected  to  fill 
the  barrel  on  their  wagon  and  the  canteen  carried  by 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  197 

each  man.  If  that  were  the  case,  and  the  Indians 
had  surrounded  them  some  distance  from  any  spring 
or  stream,  then  the  wounded  might,  indeed,  have  to 
suffer  a  day  or  so,  but  he  anticipated  nothing  worse. 
He  had  talked  it  all  over  with  Miller  before  setting 
forth  on  his  rounds,  and  knew  just  what  to  say. 
Most  women  were  reassured  and  rendered  hopeful,  but 
Mrs.  Forrest's  spirits  were  at  low  ebb  and  she  required 
consolation  in  double  allowance.  Bayard  lingered 
with  her,  nothing  loath,  hoping  that  Miss  Forrest 
might  come  into  the  family  sitting-room  to  hear  his 
version  of  affairs  at  the  front.  Even  after  Mrs.  For 
rest  was  talked  out,  and  the  font  of  her  ready  tears 
was  nearly  pumped  dry,  he  held  his  ground,  examin 
ing  Maud's  and  Vickie's  juvenile  tongues  and  dan 
dling  baby  Hal  to  that  youngster's  keen  delight.  But 
no  one  came  along  the  hall  whose  step  sounded  like 
hers,  and  at  last  his  patience  gave  out. 

"And  how  is  Miss  Forrest  this  afternoon?'7  he 
asked. 

"  Still  confined  to  her  room  and  bed,  doctor,  but 
she  says  she  means  to  get  up  and  dress  this  evening. 
Now,  do  you  think  it  prudent  for  her  to  go  out  in 
the  night  air?" 

"On  general  principles,  Mrs.  Forrest,"  answered 
the  doctor,  slowly  and  impressively,  "I  should  say 
no,  but  I  have  no  knowledge  of  the  merits  of  this 

17* 


198  THE   QUEEN   OF  BEDLAM. 

case.  You  will  remember  that  my  services  were 
virtually  declined  by  the  young  lady  in  favor  of 
those  of  the  assistant." 

"  I  know,  doctor,  I  know.  Fanny  is  simply  the 
most  incomprehensible  creature  I  ever  met.  I  can 
not  understand  her  at  all,  and  it's  useless  for  me  to 
talk  to  her.  I  told  her  that  you  were  the  family 
physician,  and  pointed  out  to  her  that  a  simple  re 
gard  for  the  proprieties  ought  to  show  her  how  much 
better  it  would  be  to  call  you  instead  of  a  gentleman 
so  much  younger ;  but  she  pays  no  attention  to  any 
thing  I  say.  She  never  has." 

Bayard  winced  not  a  little  at  the  invidious  com 
parison  on  the  score  of  age,  but,  now  that  the  sub 
ject  was  opened,  he  desired  to  "prospect"  a  little. 
There  was  another  view  to  be  taken,  and  one  far 
more  flattering  to  his  amour  propre.  Probably,  in 
the  coyness  of  a  woman  who  had  recognized  the 
lover  in  his  looks  and  language,  Miss  Forrest  had 
tacitly  admitted  his  claim  to  be  regarded  as  such  by 
summoning  another,  not  a  lover,  to  attend  her  pro 
fessionally.  If  this  hypothesis  proved  correct  he 
would  have  some  grounds  for  hope.  Two  things, 
however,  he  greatly  desired  to  know  before  taking 
the  plunge.  First,  was  it  possible  that  Mr.  Court- 
landt  proposed  leaving  her  a  lump  of  his  large  for 
tune?  Second,  was  it  possible  that  she  had  already 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  199 

given  her  heart  to  another  ?  He  well  knew  that  on 
neither  point  would  Miss  Forrest  be  confidential  with 
so  weak  a  vessel  as  her  sister-in-law;  but,  on  the 
other  hand, — and  the  doctor  reasoned  well, — he  felt 
sure  that,  in  order  to  reconcile  her  to  having  Fanny 
as  an  inmate  of  their  household,  Captain  Forrest  had 
been  compelled  to  tell  her  why  he  had  withdrawn 
his  sister  from  such  luxurious  surroundings  in  New 
York  and  brought  her  to  share  his  humble  fare  as 
a  soldier  on  the  far  frontier.  He  had  heard  from 
a  dozen  sources  how  Forrest  had  almost  painfully 
truckled  to  his  querulous  wife;  always  pleading,  ex 
plaining,  conciliating ;  always  fearful  of  saying  or 
doing,  or  leaving  unsaid  or  undone,  something,  the 
doing  or  neglecting  of  which  was  sure  to  wound  her 
sensitive  soul  and  bring  on  a  flood  of  tears  and  re 
proaches.  "If  she  were  my  wife,"  said  blunt  old 
Bruce,  "  I'd  pack  her  off  home  to  that  doting  father 
she's  always  prating  about,  and  I'd  keep  her  there 
until  she  arrived  at  years  of  discretion.  It  is  simply 
pitiful  to  see  a  big,  stalwart,  soldierly  fellow  like 
Forrest  led  around  by  the  nose  like  a  ringed  bull  by 
that  ridiculous  and  lackadaisical  creature."  Beyond 
doubt  there  would  have  been  far  more  happiness  all 
around  if  Forrest  had  firmly  set  down  his  foot  and 
refused  to  be  longer  the  victim  of  her  whims  and 
caprices.  There  would  doubtless  have  been  a  few 


200  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

days  of  sore  lamentation  and  despairing  appeals  to 
be  restored  to  her  father's  arms  (where  she  was  not 
at  all  wanted,  that  estimable  ecclesiastic  having  only 
recently  taken  thereto  a  successor  to  her  sainted 
mother);  but  in  the  end  she  would  have  respected 
him  far  more  and  been  happier  in  obeying  him. 
Like  many  another  husband,  poor  Forrest  was  at 
times  conscious  of  his  duty  in  the  case;  but,  like 
most  others,  shrank  from  the  ordeal.  Bruce  himself, 
so  savagely  critical  of  the  weakness  of  other  spouses, 
was  notoriously  subservient  to  the  wishes  of  Mrs. 
Bruce ;  but  she  never  had  to  resort  to  tears  to  accom 
plish  her  object,  and  was  thoroughly  in  unison  with 
her  husband  in  his  condemnation  of  Forrest's  weak 
ness.  "Poor,  poor  fellow!"  she  was  saying  to  her 
self  this  very  day.  "With  such  a  fool  for  a  wife 
and  such  a — such  a  sharper  for  a  sister !" 

So  confident  was  Bayard  of  his  ground  that  he 
had  decided,  days  since,  on  his  plan  of  attack.  He 
would  not  ask  direct  questions,  for  her  husband  had 
doubtless  pledged  her  to  secrecy.  He  would  deli 
cately  but  unhesitatingly  speak  of  Miss  Forrest  as 
though  he  had  full  knowledge  of  her  past,  and  he 
felt  assured  that  he  could  read  in  the  patient's  face, 
even  in  the  unlikely  event  of  her  silence,  whether  or 
no  his  theories  were  correct.  Besides,  he  had  ven 
tured  an  inquiry  or  two  of  an  old  New  York  asso- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  201 

ciate  and  club-fellow,  a   man  who   had   known   the 
Courtlandts  well. 

"We  must  not  judge  Miss  Forrest  harshly,  dear 
lady,"  he  soothingly  remarked,  after  a  moment  of 
deep  thought  and  apparent  hesitation.  "I  confess 
that  I  felt  a  little  aggrieved  at  first  when  she  saw  fit 
to  summon  Dr.  Weeks  despite  the  fact  that  I  was  in 
the  house  as  your  physician  two  or  three  times  a  day ; 
but,  after  thinking  it  all  over,  her  motives  were  ap 
parent  and — quite  natural.  You  probably  did  not 
know  that  I  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Courtlandt, 
did  you?" 

"No!  were  you?"  asked  Mrs.  Forrest,  with  di 
lating  eyes.  "And  Fanny  knew, — and  did  not  tell 
me " 

"Yes.  We  were  members  of  the  same  club,  and 
I  used  to  see  a  great  deal  of  him  before  coming 
West."  It  was  very  long  before,  and  it  was  only 
seeing,  but  Bayard  did  not  care  to  explain  this.  He 
wished  to  convey  the  idea  that  his  acquaintance  with 
the  old  gentleman  had  been  recent  and  confidential, 
and  he  succeeded. 

"  How  strange  that  you  should  be  here — where  she 
is.  I'm  sure  Captain  Forrest  has  no  idea  of  it,  doctor. 
Did — did  you  ever  speak  with  her  about — the  Court 
landts?" 

"  Yes,  once.     Of  course  she  did  not  care  to  talk  of 


202  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

the  matter  at  first.  It  was  only  when  she  found  that 
I  knew  Mr.  Courtlandt  so  well,  that  she  became  at  all 
communicative." 

"  And  did  she  talk  of  her  affair— of  Mr.  Courtlandt 
— the  younger  one  I  mean?" 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Forrest !  We  could  hardly  expect 
a  young  lady  to  be  communicative  on  such  a  topic  as 
that.  Of  course  there  were  some  thi-ngs  I  could  not 
help  knowing,  and  that  is  why  I  say  we  ought  not  to 
judge  her  harshly  now.  Her  experience  of  last  year 
was  not  calculated  to  make  a  girl  look  upon  the  world 
with  kindlier  eyes,  and  the  contrast  between  the  life 
she  leads  now  and  that  she  led  under  her  kinsman's 
roof  is  enough  to  dishearten  any  woman." 

"  I'm  sure  I  do  everything  I  possibly  can  to  make 
her  content  and  happy,"  impetuously  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Forrest,  "  And  it's  all  her  own  fault  if  she  isn't. 
She — she  needn't  have  come  at  all.  Mr.  Courtlandt 
told  her  and  told  Captain  Forrest  that  it  should  make 
no  difference ;  but  she  is  self-willed  and  obstinate,  and 
nothing  would  do  but  she  must  quit  his  roof  forever 
and  come  to  be  a  burden  on  her  brother,  who  has 
quite  enough  to  stagger  under  already."  ("Hum!" 
thought  Bayard  at  this  juncture,  "how  little  she 
realizes  the  truth  of  that  assertion  !")  "  Mr.  Court 
landt  had  been  devoted  to  her  from  her  childhood,  had 
lavished  everything  on  her,  had  educated  her,  sent  her 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  203 

abroad,  provided  for  her  in  every  way,  and — she  re 
warded  him  by  taking  this  silly  prejudice  against  his 
son,  whom  she  ought  to  have  had  sense  enough  to 
know  he  expected  her  to  marry." 

Bayard's  pulse  gave  a  leap,  but  his  fine  face  made 
no  sign.  Professional  imperturbability  alone  expressed 
itself.  She  paused  one  instant  for  breath.  Then  it 
occurred  to  her  that  perhaps  she  was  broadly  trenching 
on  forbidden  ground  and  revealing  that  which  her 
husband  had  bidden  her  keep  inviolate.  Bayard 
read  her  like  an  open  book,  and  promptly  took  the 
initiative  before  she  could  question. 

"  And  yet,  Mrs.  Forrest,  would  you  have  had  her — 
a  woman  of  such  superior  attainments  and  character — 
would  your  husband  have  had  her  marry  a  man  to 
whom  she  could  not  look  up  ? — whose  character  and, 
pardon  me,  whose  habits  were  so,  let  us  say,  unsettled?" 

"  Then  she  ought  to  have  left  before.  I  know  she 
says  she  never  dreamed  of  its  being  her  uncle's  plan 
or  hope, — never  dreamed  that  the  young  man  was  in 
earnest.  It  was  all  nonsense  to  say  she  couldn't  marry 
a  man,  whom  she  did  not  look  up  to  and  respect.  He 
is  only  a  year  younger  than  she  is,  and  lots  of  girls 
marry  men  younger  than  themselves, — especially  when 
such  a  fortune  was  involved.  Why !  Mr.  Courtlandt 
would  have  left  them  everything  he  had  in  the  world, 
if  she  would  only  have  consented." 


204  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  But  women  form  their  own  ideals,  dear  lady,  and 
she  may  have  had  a  man  in  view  whom  she  did  look 
up  to,  honor,  and  love.  Is  not  that  a  reasonable 
theory?"  And  the  doctor's  eyes,  full  of  sympathy 
and  deference,  watched  his  impulsive  patient  narrowly 
withal.  How  well  he  knew  her !  She  fell  instantly 
into  the  trap. 

"  But  she  hadn't !  I  could  forgive  her  easily  if  that 
were  so,  but  she  told  the  captain  it  was  purely  and 
simply  that  she  could  not  and  would  not  marry  Philip 
Courtlandt  or  any  man  like  him." 

"But  I  fancied  from  what — from  various  circum 
stances — that  the  young  man  was  very  dissipated — 
dangerously  so,  in  fact.  Would  you  counsel  your 
sister  to  marry  such  a  man?" 

"Well,  why  not?  He  has  been  wild,  I  know. 
My  husband  looked  into  the  whole  case,  and,  of 
course,  he  sustains  her.  Phil  Courtlandt  had  to  go 
into  a  retreat  once,  but  I  believe  it  was  because  she 
treated  him  so.  His  father  was  sure  that  she  could 
reform  and  make  a  man  of  him,  and  he  almost  im 
plored  her  to  take  pity  on  his  gray  hairs  and  save 
his  boy.  I  tell  you  I  think  it  was  sheer  ingratitude. 
Even  if  she  couldn't  have  reformed  him,  there  would 
have  been  all  that  money."  And  Mrs.  Forrest  sighed 
pathetically  at  thought  of  the  thousands  her  hard- 
headed,  hard-hearted  sister  had  refused.  Bayard, 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  205 

congratulating  himself  on  his  success  thus  far,  had 
still  another  point  on  which  he  desired  information, — 
a  vital  point. 

"What  seems  so  bad  about  the  whole  matter,"  he 
said,  after  a  sympathetic  echo  of  the  lady's  sigh,  "  is 
the  disappointment  of  old  Mr.  Courtlandt.  No  doubt, 
despite  their  cousinship,  this  has  long  been  his  cher 
ished  scheme;  and  it  must  make  him — at  least  I  do 
not  wonder  that  it  makes  him  a  trifle  bitter  against 
her." 

"  Why,  doctor,  that  is  one  of  the  queerest  things  to 
me!  One  would  suppose  that  any  girl  of  ordinary 
gratitude  would  try  and  repay  and  appreciate  such 
devotion  as  lias  been  lavished  on  her.  She  simply 
repels  people  who  try  to  be  loving  to  her.  I'm  sure 
I've  tried  every  way  in  my  power.  Of  course,  at  first 
he  was  very  bitter  and  said  some  severe  things, — at 
least  she  so  told  Captain  Forrest, — but  she  has  no 
right  to  treasure  them  up  against  him.  He  said  he 
had  reared  and  educated  and  cherished  her  purposely 
to  be  the  salvation  of  his  wayward  son,  and,  as  she 
would  not  have  the  son,  she  said  she  could  not  live 
under  his  roof.  Then  he  had  always  given  her  a 
liberal  allowance,  besides  paying  the  most  extraordi 
nary  bills,  and  she  hurt  him  fearfully — I  know  she 
did — by  refusing  to  accept  it  afterward.  He  has  sent 
it  to  her  even  here,  and  she  almost  hurls  it  back  at 

18 


206  THE   QUEEN  OF  J1EDLAM. 

him, — and  here  are  Maud  and  Vickie  without  a 
decent  dress  to  their  names,"  wailed  Mrs.  Forrest  in 
somewhat  irrelevant  conclusion,  and  the  tears  welled 
again  from  her  weary  eyes. 

Bayard  was  again  silent  a  moment,  waiting  for  his 
patient  to  recover  her  composure  and  her  tongue.  It 
was  comfort  to  think  that,  at  least,  Mr.  Courtlandt's 
munificence  was  still  a  fact.  But  how  about  the 
future? 

"Anything  that  might  tend  to  widen  the  breach 
between  them  would,  of  course,  be  deplorable,"  he 
presently  said;  "but  I  infer,  from  the  fact  that  he 
continues  to  send  her  allowance  to  her,  that  he  will  be 
apt  to  provide  liberally  for  her  in  his  will." 

"He  would  do  anything  for  her,  I've  no  doubt, 
despite  her  ingratitude ;  but  she  has  told  Captain  For 
rest  that  after  what  has  passed  she  cannot  and  will  not 
accept  a  penny  from  him.  Now  what  can  one  say  to 
a  girl  like  that?" 

And  this  question  the  doctor  could  not  answer. 
After  a  few  moments7  thought,  he  arose  as  if  to  go. 

"  I  am  heartily  glad  to  know  that  she  is  so  much 
better  this  afternoon.  These  are  anxious  days  for  us 
all,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  so  many  of 
our  ladies  are  prostrated.  Will  you  kindly  say  to  her 
that  I  called  to  inquire  after  her,  and  am  rejoiced  to 
think  we  will  soon  be  able  to  welcome  her  out  again  ? 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  207 

And,  Mrs.  Forrest,  you  might  say  to  her  that  it  would 
gladden  my  little  girl  if  she  would  come  over  and  sit 
with  her  or  sing  to  her.  Elinor  has  been  very  low- 
spirited  to-day,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that 
Jeannie  Bruce  has  been  in  tears  much  of  the  time 
since  Hatton  left.  Good-afternoon,  Mrs.  Forrest. 
Good-by,  little  ones."  And  the  courtly  doctor  took 
his  leave. 

As  he  descended  the  stairs  with  characteristic  delib 
eration  and  dignity,  Celestine  came  forth  from  the 
dining-room  and  met  him  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 

"Mr.  Holmes  is  come,  doctor,"  she  said,  showing 
her  white  teeth.  "  Specks  he'll  be  glad  to  find  Miss; 
Nellie  sittin'  up  again.  T'warn't  no  use  7n  Miss 
Fanny  t'  try  to  catch  him,  V  I  told  her  so  when  she 
was  writin'  to  him.  He's  out  yahnder  along  with 
Major  Miller  now." 

And  though  the  doctor  frowned  majestically  and 
strode  by  the  gabbling  hussy  without  a  word,  it  gave 
him  an  uncomfortable  start  to  hear  her  words.  What 
had  happened  that  Fanny  Forrest  should  be  writing 
now  to  K-oswell  Holmes?  This  was  something  to  be 
looked  into. 


XVI. 

IT  was  nearly  two  days  before  authentic  news  came 
in  from  the  Niobrara,  where  Hatton's  little  command 
had  been  "corralled."  Just  as  at  first  reported,  the 
Indians  in  overwhelming  numbers  had  suddenly 
charged  down  upon  the  detachment  from  behind  a 
ridge  that  lay  full  half  a  mile  to  the  east  of  the  road ; 
while  others,  crouching  in  a  dry  watercourse,  had 
picked  off  the  leading  soldiers, — the  two  men  thrown 
lout  to  the  front  to  scout  the  trail  and  secure  the  main 
body  against  surprise.  Hatton,  all  told,  had  only 
twenty  men,  and  the  fall  of  the  two  far  in  the  advance 
had  for  an  instant  flurried  their  comrades  back  at  the 
wagons.  There  was  no  time  to  run  these  lumbering 
vehicles,  empty  though  they  were,  into  the  familiar, 
old  " prairie  fort,"  in  square  or  circle;  but,  while  some 
of  the  teamsters  sprang  from  their  saddles  and  took 
refuge  under  their  wagons,  others  seized  their  arms  and 
joined  the  soldiers  in  a  sharp  fire  upon  the  charging 
and  yelling  warriors,  with  the  usual  effect  of  com 
pelling  them  to  veer  and  wheel  and  scamper  away, 
still  keeping  up  a  lively  fusillade  of  their  own.  One 
mule  team  and  wagon  went  tearing  off  full  tilt  across 
the  prairie  pursued  by  a  score  of  jeering,  laughing, 
208 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  209 

and  exultant  braves,  and  was  finally  "rounded  up" 
and  captured  by  them  a  mile  away  to  the  west ;  and 
Hatton  had  promptly  availed  himself  of  the  episode 
to  make  a  rush  with  his  entire  party  for  a  little  hil 
lock  three  hundred  yards  east  of  the  road.  He  had 
marked  the  spot  before  and  knew  its  possibilities  for 
defence,  and  there  in  less  than  five  minutes  he  had  his 
men  sheltered  in  an  oval  "clip"  along  the  crest  and 
yet  commanding  the  approaches  in  every  direction. 
From  here  they  not  only  successfully  "stood  off" 
every  attack  until  dark,  but  prevented  the  Indians 
reaching  the  bodies  of  the  slain  and  securing  the 
coveted  trophy  of  their  scalps,  and  covered  the  team 
sters  who  were  sent  down  to  unhitch  and  secure  the 
mules.  When  night  came  a  half-breed  scout  slipped 
away  with  news  of  the  "corral,"  and  Hatton  found 
that  two  of  his  men  were  severely  wounded  and  that 
few  of  them  had  any  water  in  their  canteens.  The 
river  was  full  six  miles  to  the  south.  Neither  stream 
nor  spring  was  close  at  hand,  and  with  characteristic 
improvidence  the  teamsters  had  failed  to  fill  their 
water-barrels  at  the  stockade  before  starting.  "  What 
was  the  use,  with  the  Niobrara  only  a  few  hours' 
march  away  ?"  Bitterly  did  Hatton  reproach  himself 
for  his  neglect  in  having  left  so  important  a  matter  to 
the  men  themselves,  but  there  was  no  sense  in  fretting 
over  the  past.  Something  had  to  be  done  at  once  to 
o  18* 


210  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

provide  water  for  the  morrow's  siege.  They  heard 
the  exultant  whoops  of  the  savages,  who,  under  cover 
of  the  darkness,  had  crept  out  and  succeeded  in  scalp 
ing  the  two  dead  soldiers.  They  knew  that  very  soon 
the  Indians  would  be  crawling  out  to  the  wagons  in 
an  attempt  to  run  them  away  or  fire  them.  Hatton 
himself  ventured  down  to  examine  the  water-barrels, 
and  found  not  more  than  half  a  barrel  of  dirty, 
brackish,  ill-flavored  fluid  in  all.  The  darkness  grew 
black  and  impenetrable.  Heavy  clouds  overspread 
the  heavens,  and  a  moaning  wind  crept  out  of  the 
mountain-passes  of  the  Big  Horn  range  and  came 
sweeping  down  across  the  treeless  prairie.  Every  now 
and  then  they  could  hear  the  galloping  beat  of  pony- 
hoofs,  and  knew  that  they  were  closely  invested  in 
their  hillock  citadel,  and  at  last,  about  ten  o'clock,  a 
sergeant  who  had  been  sent  with  a  couple  of  men  to 
see  what  was  going  on  at  the  wagons,  came  running 
back  breathless.  The  wagons  were  gone !  Every  one 
of  them  had  been  run  off  by  the  Indians  under  cover 
of  the  wind  and  darkness;  and  presently,  half  a  mile 
over  to  the  south-east,  a  glare  of  flame  arose,  and  the 
white  tops  became  for  a  moment  visible,  and  dancing, 
capering  naked  forms  around  them,  and  then  the  cotton 
duck  attracted  the  eager,  fiery  tongues,  and  in  another 
moment  the  flames  seemed  to  leap  high  in  the  air,  but 
the  performers  in  the  aboriginal  ballet  scurried  for 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  211 

shelter.  The  soldiers  sighted  their  rifles  for  nine  hun 
dred  yards,  and  the  little  hill  blazed  and  sputtered 
half  a  minute  with  a  rapid  discharge  that  sent  leaden 
messengers  whistling  through  the  burning  wagon- 
covers  and  humming  about  the  ears  of  the  revellers. 
Fifteen  minutes  later,  Hatton  resolved  on  a  bold 
move.  Mounting  his  wounded  men  on  mules,  and 
leading  his  little  party,  soldiers,  teamsters,  and  quad 
rupeds,  he  slipped  away  from  the  hillock,  and,  keep 
ing  well  to  the  east  of  the  road,  groped  through  the 
darkness  back  to  the  high  range  overlooking  the 
valleys  of  "  Old  Woman's  Fork"  of  the  South  Chey 
enne  and  Hat  Creek  to  the  eastward  ;  and  morning 
found  him  bivouacked  at  a  little  spring  not  ten  miles 
from  the  stockade.  Thither,  of  course,  the  Indians 
trailed  and  followed  at  daybreak.  There  again  they 
attacked  and  besieged  and  were  repulsed,  again  and 
again;  and  there  at  dawn  on  the  second  day,  after 
an  all-night  march,  the  trumpets  of  the  cavalry  rang 
the  signal  of  rescue,  and  the  charging  troopers  sent 
the  Sioux  whirling  in  scattered  bands  over  the  bold 
and  beautiful  upland.  The  little  detachment  was 
safe,  but  its  brave  commander  was  prostrate  with  a 
rifle-bullet  through  the  thigh  and  another  in  the 
shoulder.  Dr.  Weeks  declared  it  impossible  to  at 
tempt  to  move  him  back  to  Laramie ;  and  in  a  litter 
made  with  lariats  and  saddle-blankets  the  men  carried 


212  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

their  wounded  leader  back  to  the  stockade  at  the 
head  of  Sage  Creek,  and  there,  wrote  Weeks,  he 
might  have  to  remain  a  month,  and  there,  unless 
otherwise  ordered,  the  other  wounded  men  would 
remain  with  him,  Weeks  himself  attending  them  in 
his  improvised  field -hospital. 

Major  Miller  and  Dr.  Bayard,  after  brief  consulta 
tion,  had  decided  that  the  young  surgeon's  ideas  were 
sound.  The  stockade  was  well  guarded  and  provi 
sioned.  Medical  and  surgical  supplies  were  promptly 
forwarded  under  strong  cavalry  escort,  and  that  same 
day  the  entire  cavalry  battalion  struck  its  tents  and 
moved  away  northward  over  the  route  Hatton  had 
taken.  Once  more  was  Laramie  left  with  only  a 
handful  of  men  and  hardly  a  company  officer  for 
duty. 

Old  Bruce  turned  out,  despite  his  rheumatics,  and 
announced  that  he  was  game  for  any  garrison  service 
under  the  circumstances.  Roswell  Holmes,  who  had 
stowed  a  box  of  wine  and  several  boxes  of  cigars  in 
the  supply- wagons,  with  his  compliments  to  Dr.  Weeks 
and  his  patients,  and  who  had  remained  at  Laramie 
instead  of  going  to  the  front  solely  because  of  an 
odd  turn  in  local  events,  now  declared  that  he  must 
be  considered  a  brevet  second  lieutenant,  and  besought 
Dr.  Bayard's  permission  to  visit  his  patient,  Mr. 
McLean,  to  solicit  the  loan  of  his  uniforms,  sword, 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  213 

etc.  Major  Miller  laughed  gleefully  at  the  idea, 
and  all  the  garrison  was  beginning  to  pluck  up  heart 
again,  for  Hatton's  wounds  were  pronounced  not 
dangerous,  though  painful,  and  all  the  infantry  peo 
ple  were  proud  of  the  way  he  and  McLean  had 
upheld  the  honor  of  their  corps.  Jeannie  Bruce  and 
Elinor  had  had  long  hours  of  who  knows  what  de 
licious  confidence  and  tearful  exchange  of  sympathy. 
McLean  was  reported  doing  very  well ;  Blunt  was 
improving;  Miss  Forrest  was  taking  the  air  on  the 
gallery.  Everybody  seemed  in  better  spirits,  despite  a 
certain  constraint  and  mystery  that  overhung  the  gar 
rison, — everybody,  with  one  exception — Dr.  Bayard. 

"  Mr.  McLean  is  improving  so  rapidly  that  he  is 
able  to  sit  up  already  and  will  need  his  uniform 
himself,"  was  his  response  to  Holrnes's  laughing 
suggestion,  but  both  Major  Miller  and  the  gentle 
man,  addressed  looked  at  the  speaker  in  surprise. 
One  might  have  hazarded  the  assertion  that  it  was  a 
matter  of  regret  to  the  post  surgeon  that  his  patient 
was  on  the  mend.  Miller  eyed  him  narrowly.  Ever 
since  the  strange  conversation  held  with  the  doctor, 
the  post  commander  had  become  almost  distrustful 
of  his  motives.  What  could  he  mean  by  intimating 
that  McLean  was  the  guilty  party  in  these  recent 
mysterious  larcenies?  What  could  have  put  such 
ideas  into  his  head?  For  the  first  time  in  several 


214  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

days   the   major  was   tempted   to  reopen   the  subject 
which  he  had  practically  forbidden  his  wife  to  men 
tion  again.     He  longed  to  know  what  she  would  say 
or  think  if  she  knew  that  the  surgeon  was  trying  to 
divert  suspicion  from  Miss  Forrest  to  the  wounded 
and  unsuspecting  officer.     Now  that  the  cavalry  had 
gone  out  to  the  front  and  more  troops  were  marching 
up  from  the  railway,  all  anxiety  as  to  his  immediate 
surroundings  was  dispelled,  and  the  major  could  not 
avoid   drifting   back  to  the  strange  complications  in 
which  two  of  the  prominent  people  of  his  military 
bailiwick   were    involved.      He    had    taken   a  great 
liking  to  Mr.  Holmes,  and   had  striven  to  open  the 
way  for   that  gentleman  in  case  he  had   the  faintest 
inclination  to  speak  of  his  losses;    but,  though  the 
civilian   instantly  saw   what   the   simple-minded   old 
soldier  was  aiming  at,  he  changed  the  subject,  and  it 
presently  became   plain    to   the   commander    that   he 
would  not  speak   about  the   matter  at  all.      Miller 
could  not  well  seek  his  advice  without  telling  of  the 
other   thefts  of  which   he   believed   Mr.  Holmes   to 
know  nothing,  and  yet  he  felt  that  as  commanding 
officer  it  was  his  duty  to  say  to  the  visitor  how  much 
he  regretted  the  occurrence  and  how  earnestly  he  was 
striving  to  discover  the  offender.     But  Holmes  would 
not  give  him  a  chance.     He  was  doing  a  little  ferret 
ing  on  his  own  account. 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  215 

As  for  the  doctor,  two  things  had  conspired  to 
make  him  blue  and  unhappy.  Miss  Forrest  was  up 
and  out  on  her  gallery,  as  has  been  said,  but  was 
never  in  her  sister's  room  when  the  doctor  called; 
declined  his  professional  services  with  courteous  thanks 
and  the  assurance  that  no  physician  was  necessary, 
yet  begged  to  be  excused  when  he  sent  a  message  by 
Celestine  asking  if  she  would  not  see  him.  Then 
he  wrote  her  a  note,  and,  remembering  her  antipathy 
to  the  mulatto  girl,  he  sent  it  by  Eobert,  charging 
him  to  take  it  to  her  door  if  she  was  not  in  the 
sitting-room,  but  to  deliver  it  in  person  and  wait  for 
an  answer.  Robert  found  her  promenading  with 
Mrs.  Post  on  the  upper  gallery,  and  people  who  had 
been  saying  that  Mrs.  Post  had  nothing  to  do  with 
her  at  Robinson  were  surprised  at  the  growing  inti 
macy  between  them  now.  Robert  presented  the  note 
with  a  grave  and  courtly  Virginia  bow,  then  with 
drew  to  a  little  distance  and  respectfully  awaited  her 
answer.  Over  at  the  Gordons'  a  group  of  ladies,  old 
and  young,  watched  the  scene  with  curious  and  specu 
lative  eyes.  Everybody  knew  that  Miss  Forrest  had 
declined  to  see  Dr.  Bayard  during  her  illness.  Every 
body  had  noted  that,  while  the  entire  feminine  ele 
ment  of  the  garrison  flocked  to  inquire  for  Nellie 
in  her  invalid  state,  nobody  went  to  see  Fanny  For 
rest.  Now,  what  could  this  strange  girl  be  doing 


216  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

with  letters  from  "Dr.  Chesterfield"?  Even  Mrs. 
Post  watched  her  narrowly  as  she  hurriedly  read  the 
lines  of  the  doctor's  elegant  missive.  Her  eyes 
seemed  to  dilate,  her  color  heightened  and  a  little 
frown  set  itself  darkly  on  her  brow ;  but  she  looked 
up  brightly  after  a  moment's  thought,  and  spoke 
kindly  and  pleasantly  to  the  waiting  messenger, — 

"  There  is  no  answer,  at  least  not  now,  Robert. 
Thank  the  doctor  and  tell  him  I  am  very  much  better." 

And  so,  empty-handed,  he  returned  to  his  master, 
who  waited  expectant  in  his  study.  The  message  was 
almost  an  affront, — such  was  his  pride  and  self-esteem ; 
and  for  nearly  an  hour  he  sat  there  pondering  over  the 
strange  characteristics  of  the  girl  who,  despite  the 
story  of  her  poverty  and  dependence,  had  so  fascinated 
him.  It  cut  him  to  the  quick  that  she  should  so  avoid 
him,  when  he  knew  well  that  between  her  and  Mr. 
Holmes  there  had  been  an  exchange  of  notes.  Mr. 
Holmes  had  seen  fit  to  preserve  a  mysterious  silence  as 
to  this  significant  circumstance,  and  finally,  apparently 
by  appointment,  Mr.  Holmes  had  called  at  Bedlam 
the  evening  after  his  arrival,  and  had  enjoyed  a  long 
and  uninterrupted  conversation  with  Miss  Forrest  out 
on  the  upper  gallery.  Now  what  did  this  portend  ? 
It  was  Celestine  who  gave  him  this  very  interesting 
information  as  he  entered  the  lower  hall,  and,  despite 
his  repellant  mien,  that  enterprising  domestic  was 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  217 

sufficiently  a  judge  of  character  to  venture  on  a  low 
and  confidential  tone  of  voice  in  addressing  him.  He 
had  scowled  malignantly  at  her  and  had  bidden  her 
hold  her  peace  as  he  passed  her  by,  but  Celestine  was 
in  no  wise  dismayed.  She  knew  her  man.  It  was  on 
his  return  from  his  visit  that  he  sent  his  note,  and 
then,  in  the  gloom  and  silence  of  his  library,  pondered 
over  the  palpable  rebuff.  Over  across  the  hall  he 
could  hear  the  soft  voices  of  his  daughter  and  her  now 
intimate  friend  Jean.  They  were  cooing  and  mur 
muring  together  in  some  girlish  confidences  which  he 
was  in  no  mood  to  appreciate,  and  with  which  he 
could  feel  no  sympathy  whatever.  Then  in  came 
Holmes  from  the  sunshine  of  the  parade;  and  he 
heard  him  cheerily  enter  the  parlor,  and  in  hearty, 
cordial  tones  announce  that  he  had  just  come  from  Mr. 
McLean's  room,  that  that  young  gentleman  was  doing 
finely,  and  would  be  able  to  sit  out  on  the  piazza  in  a 
day  or  two,  and  that  Mrs.  Miller  was  nursing  him 
like  a  mother.  For  a  time  the  chat  went  blithely  on, 
Jeannie  Bruce  and  Holmes  being  the  principals,  and 
then  came  a  message  which  called  that  young  lassie 
homeward. 

Presently  Bayard  heard  the  manly  voice  growing 

deeper  and  softer.     The  words  were  indistinguishable, 

but  there  was  no  misjudging  the  tone,  such  was  the 

tremor  of  tenderness  of  every  syllable.      Faint,   far 

K  19 


218  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

between,  and  monosyllabic  were  Nellie's  replies,  but 
soon  the  father  knew  she  was  answering  through  her 
tears.  It  did  not  last  long.  Holmes  came  to  the  hall, 
turned  and  spoke  once  more  to  her, — no  touch  of  re 
proach,  no  tinge  of  pleading,  but  with  a  ring  of  manly 
sympathy  and  protecting  care  in  every  word ;  Bayard 
could  not  but  hear  one  sentence :  "  It  makes  me  only 
more  firmly  your  friend,  little  girl, — and  his,  too." 
And  then  he  strode  forth  into  the  breeze  and  sunshine 
again,  and  no  man  who  met  him  knew  that  he  had 
tempted  his  fate  and  lost.  Something  had  told  him, 
days  before,  that  Miss  Forrest's  words  were  prophetic, 
— Nellie  Bayard  would  prefer  one  nearer  her  own 
years. 

It  was  to  satisfy  himself  that  Randall  McLean  was 
that  enviable  somebody  that  he  had  sought  this  inter 
view;  and,  though  she  had  admitted  nothing  and  lie 
had  not  questioned,  he  had  read  in  her  tears  and 
blushes  a  truth  that  only  recently  had  she  tremblingly 
admitted  to  herself.  Now  he  saw  his  way  clearly  to 
the  end. 

But  to  Bayard  the  abrupt  close  of  the  murmured 
interview  meant  a  possibility  that  filled  him  with 
double  dismay.  That  one  hope  should  be  dashed  to 
earth  this  morning  was  an  evil  sufficient  unto  the  day. 
That  it  should  be  followed  by  the  conviction  that  his 
daughter  had  utterly  declined  to  consider  this  wealthy 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  219 

and  most  estimable  gentleman  as  a  suitor  for  her  hand 
was  a  bitter,  bitter  disappointment;  but  that  she 
should  have  refused  Roswell  Holmes,  with  all  his 
advantages,  because  of  Randall  McLean — with  what? 
— Avas  more  than  he  could  bear. 

Just  as  she  was  hurrying  to  her  room,  still  weeping, 
he  interposed. 

"  My  little  Nell ! — my  precious  !"  he  cried,  in  ten- 
derest  tones,  as  he  folded  her  in  his  arms.  "  Is  it  so 
hopeless  as  this?  Is  it  possible  that  my  little 
daughter's  heart  has  been  stolen  away — right  under 
my  eyes — and  I  never  saw  it?" 

For  an  answer  she  only  clung  to  him,  hiding  her 
bonny  face,  weeping  the  more  violently.  Speak  she 
could  not. 

"  Nell !  Nellie !"  he  pleaded,  "  try  and  tell  me, 
dear.  You  don't  know  what  it  means  to  me !  You 
don't  know  what  fears  your  silence  causes  me !  My 
child — tell  me — that  it  isn't  Mr.  McLean." 

No  answer — only  closer  nestling ;  only  added  tears. 

"Nell,  my  own  little  one!  If  you  knew  with 
what  awful  dread  I  waited !  If  you  knew  what  this 
meant  to  me — to  you — to  us  all !  Speak  to  me, 
daughter.  Tell  me  it  isn't  that  unhappy  young  man." 

And  now,  startled,  shocked,  she  lifts  her  brimming 
eyes  in  wonderment  to  her  father's  face,  gazing  at  him 
through  the  mist  of  tears. 


220  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  Why  unhappy  ?"  she  almost  gasps.  "  Why—why 
not  Mr.  McLean,  papa?" 

For  a  moment  Bayard  stands  as  though  stunned. 
Then  slowly  relaxes  the  clasp  of  his  arms  and  turns 
drearily  away,  covering  his  face  with  his  hands. 

"  My  God  I"  he  moans.  "  This  is  retribution,  this 
is  punishment !  Blinder  than  the  veriest  mole  have  I 
been  through  it  all.  Nellie!"  he  cries,  turning  sud 
denly  toward  her  again  as  she  stands  there  trembling  at 
his  melodramatic  misery.  "  There  is.  no  engagement ! 
There  has  been  nothing  said,  has  there  ?  Tell  me  !" 

"  Not  a  word, — from  me,"  she  whispers  low.  "  He 
sent  me  a  little  note  yesterday  through  Jeannie.  In 
deed,  you  can  see  it,  papa ;  but  I  have  not  answered. 
It  doesn't  ask  anything." 

"Then  promise  me  no  word  shall  go,  my  child! 
Promise  me  !  I  cannot  tell  you  why  just  yet,  but  he 
is  not  the  man  to  whom  I  could  ever  consent  to  give 
you.  My  child  !  my  child  !  his  name  is  clouded  ;  his- 
honor  is  tarnished ;  he  stands  accused  of  crime.  Nellie 
— my  God  !  you  must  hear  it  sooner  or  later." 

But  now  she  draws  away  from  him  and  leans  upon 
the  balusters,  looking  into  his  face  as  though  she 
doubted  his  sanity. 

"  Father !"  she  slowly  speaks  at  length,  "  I  could 
no  more  believe  such  a  thing  of  him — than  I  could  of 
you." 


THE   qUEEN   OF  BEDLAM.  221 

A  quick,  springy  step  is  suddenly  heard  on  the 
wooden  walk  without,  the  rattle  of  an  infantry  sword 
against  the  steps,  an  imperative  rat-tat-tat  at  the  door. 
Elinor  speeds  away  to  hide  her  flushed  cheeks  and 
tearful  eyes  in  the  solitude  of  her  room.  Bayard 
quickly  composes  his  features  to  their  conventional 
calm  and  recedes  to  the  gloom  of  the  library.  Kobert 
majestically  stalks  through  the  hall  and  opens  the 

door. 

"Dr.  Bayard  in?"  asks  the  brusque  voice  of  the 
adjutant.  "  Ah,  doctor,"  continues  that  officer,  march 
ing  straightway  into  the  den,  "  Major  Miller  is  at  the 
gate  and  on  his  way  to  visit  Mr.  McLean.  He  begs 
that  you  will  be  present  at  the  interview,  as  it  is  on  a 
matter  of  much  importance." 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Adjutant,"  answers  Bayard,  gravely, 
as  though  divining  the  solemn  import  of  their  errand. 
"I  am  at  your  service  at  once." 


XVII. 

AN  odd  despatch  was  that  which  went  by  the  single 
wire  of  the  military  telegraph  line  to  Fort  Fetterman 
late  that  night.  It  was  known  that  a  small  escort 
would  leave  that  point  early  in  the  morning,  going 
through  with  a  staff-officer  en  route  to  join  the  field 
column  now  busily  engaging  the  hostile"  Indians  along 
the  northern  foot-hills  of  the  Big  Horn  range.  Major 
Miller  asked  the  commanding  officer  at  Fetterman  to 
hold  back  a  brace  of  horsemen  to  await  the  arrival  of 
a  courier  just  leaving  Laramie,  and  bearing  an  im 
portant  and  confidential  letter  to  the  general  com 
manding  the  department,  who  was  with  his  troops  in 
the  field.  It  was  over  eighty  miles  by  the  river  road ; 
the  night  was  dark  and  the  skies  overcast.  There 
might  be  Indians  along  the  route  •  there  certainly 
were  no  soldiers,  for,  with  the  exception  of  eight  or 
ten  men,  all  of  Captain  Terry's  troop  were  with  him 
scouting  on  the  north  side  of  the  Platte  and  over  near 
the  Sioux  reservations.  All  the  same,  a  single  trooper, 
armed  only  with  the  revolver  and  unburdened  by  the 
usual  blankets  and  field  kit, — riding  almost  as  light  as 
a  racer, — was  to  make  the  run  and  reach  Fetterman 
the  next  afternoon. 
222 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  223 

This  was  the  result  of  the  interview  with  Lieutenant 
McLean,  a  conference  at  which  were  present  Major 
and  Mrs.  Miller,  Dr.  Bayard,  and  the  adjutant.  Why 
Mrs.  Miller,  the  wife  of  the  commanding  officer,  should 
have  been  present  in  any  capacity,  it  is  not  the  province 
of  the  narrator  to  defend.  She  had  been  assiduously 
nursing  and  caring  for  the  young  officer  in  his  weak 
and  wounded  condition.  She  had  him  where  he  could 
not  escape  her  shrewd  and  relentless  questionings.  She 
was  enabled  to  tell  him  much  that  Hatton  had  told  her 
and  a  few  things  she  certainly  thought  he  had  and 
therefore  said  he  had.  She  was  further  enabled  to  tell 
him  of  the  letters  from  Kobinson  and  all  they  por 
tended  ;  of  Mr.  Holrnes's  loss  and  what  she  had  seen 
in  the  mirror ;  of  her  own  meeting  with  Miss  Forrest 
in  the  darkness  of  the  doctor's  hall ;  of  the  registered 
letters  sent  away  when  everybody  knew  Mrs.  Forrest 
hadn't  a  penny  except  the  captain's  pay,  and  that  she 
had  openly  and  repeatedly  announced  that  her  sister- 
in-law  had  now  come  to  be  a  burden,  too,  having 
quarrelled  with  her  relatives  in  the  East.  And  so, 
little  by  little,  she  had  drawn  from  McLean  the  story 
of  Hatton's  farewell  words  and  the  discovery  of  the 
card  in  the  handkerchief.  Then,  fortified  with  this 
intelligence,  and  firmly  convinced  that  she  could  not 
be  mistaken  in  the  guilt  of  her  Majesty  of  Bedlam, 
Mrs.  Miller  reopened  the  subject  and  prodded  the 


224  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

major  into  immediate  action.  She  meant  well.  She 
intended  no  public  exposure,  no  unnecessary  disgrace. 
She  merely  wanted  that  Captain  Forrest  should  come 
at  once,  compel  his  much-afflicted  sister  (for,  of  course, 
kleptomania  was  the  sole  explanation)  to  make  restitu 
tion,,  and  then  remove  her  to  some  safe  retreat  in  the 
distant  East.  Miller  decided  to  see  McLean  at  once, 
taking  his  adjutant  to  jot  down  the  statements  made, 
and  Dr.  Bayard  because  of  his  rank  in  the  service  and 
his  professional  connection  with  the  officer  in  question. 
Mrs.  Miller  decided  to  be  present  because  of  McLean's 
great  reluctance  to  tell  what  he  knew  and  because  she 
conceived  it  her  duty  to  prompt  him;  and  this  was 
the  quartet  that  swooped  down  upon  the  poor  fellow 
in  his  defenceless  condition  late  that  sunshiny  after 
noon.  No  wonder  his  recovery  was  delayed! 

The  most  stunned  and  bewildered  man  of  the  party 
while  the  painful  interview  was  in  progress  was  Dr. 
Bayard.  He  had  gone  in  the  confident  expectation 
that  McLean  was  to  be  confronted  with  the  evidences 
of  his  guilt,  and  offered  the  chance  of  immediate 
resignation.  His  patient  was  sufficiently  removed 
from  the  danger-line  to  enable  him  to  sustain  the 
shock,  and  he  had  not  interposed.  It  was  too  late, 
therefore,  to  put  an  end  to  matters  on  that  plea  when 
to  his  horror-stricken  ears  was  revealed  the  evidence 
against  the  woman  who  had  so  enthralled  and  piqued 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  225 

him.  Miller  led  him  away  in  a  semi-dazed  condition 
after  the  close  of  the  conference,  and  then  at  last  the 
doctor's  vehement  emotions  found  tongue. 

"And  all  this  time  you  have  been  suspecting  that 
poor  young  fellow !"  said  the  major,  with  a  touch  of 
reproach  in  his  voice. 

There  was  silence  an  instant.  The  doctor  stopped 
short  and  leaned  against  the  fence  in  front  of  the  ad 
jutant's  quarters,  his  face  purpling  with  wrath  and 
indignation,  his  lips  twitching,  his  hands  clinched. 
Miller  looked  at  him  in  amaze,  and  then  came  the 
outburst : 

"  Suspect  him  !  By  heaven,  sir !  What  it  was  be 
fore  is  nothing  to  what  I  feel  now!  That  in  his 
depravity  he  should  have  stolen  was  bad  enough ;  but 
that  now,  to  cover  his  tracks,  he  should  accuse  and 
defame  a  defenceless  woman  is  infamy!  Look  at  his 
story,  and  tell  me  could  anything  be  more  pitiful  and 
mendacious?  Her  handkerchief  was  found  in  his 
bureau  the  night  of  the  robbery.  Where  is  the  hand 
kerchief  now  ?  He  burned  it !  He  found  a  note  on 
a  card  from  her  hidden  in  the  handkerchief  she  had 
given  Hatton  to  replace  in  the  drawer.  Where  is  the 
card  ?  He  burned  it !  He  *  purposely  destroyed  all 
evidence  against  her.'  A  sham  Quixote'!  Who  found 
her  handkerchief  in  his  bureau  ?  Who  saw  the  burn 
ing?  Who  put  the  handkerchief  in  the  drawer? 
P 


226  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

Who  told  him  of  her  confession?  Who  heard  her 
beg  that  you  should  be  delayed  in  your  investigation  ? 
Who,  in  fact,  is  corroborating  witness  Jo  everything 
and  anything  he  alleges,  but  the  man  he  believes,  and 
I  believe,  you  can  never  reach  again.  Hatton  is 
failing  rapidly." 

"  How  could  he  have  heard  that  ?"  asked  Miller, 
with  mingled  wrath  and  stupefaction  in  his  face, — 
wrath  at  the  doctor's  contemptuous  disregard  of  all 
other  opinions,  and  stupefaction  at  the  suddenly  pre 
sented  view  of  the  case. 

"  The  attendant,  sir,  was  down  at  the  telegraph  office 
when  the  news  came  in,  and  he  had  to  tell  McLean ; 
the  latter  insisted  on  being  told  the  truth.  Weeks 
fears  blood-poisoning,  and  if  that  has  set  in  nothing 
can  save  him.  Then  where  will  be  your  evidence 
against  this  most  foully  wronged  lady  ?" 

"  Hush  !"  exclaimed  Miller,  quickly,  with  a  warn 
ing,  sidelong  glance  toward  Bedlam.  "  Come  with 
me !"  And,  following  his  commander's  look,  the 
doctor  saw,  standing  close  together,  leaning  on  the 
southern  balustrade  and  gazing  down  upon  them  in 
evident  interest  and  equally  evident  surprise,  Fanny 
Forrest  and  Mr.  Roswell  Holmes.  Silently  he  turned 
and  accompanied  the  major  until  he  reached  his  own 
gateway,  and  then  stopped. 

"I  presume  there  is  nothing  further  I  can  do  just 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  227 

now,  and,  with  your  permission,  sir,  I  will  leave  you. 
I  want  to  think  this  all  over." 

"Do  so,  doctor.  And,  when  you  are  ready,  come 
and  see  me.  Let  me  only  say  this  to  you :  You  have 
hardly  known  McLean  at  all.  We  have  known  him 
nearly  five  years,  and  he  has  ever  been  in  our  eyes 
the  soul  of  honor  and  truth." 

"  The  soul  of  honor  and  truth,  sir,  would  not  be 
writing  love-letters  and  destroying  the  peace  of  mind 
of  a  young  and  innocent  girl  when  all  he  has  to  offer 
her  is  a  millstone  of  debt  and  a  tarnished  name." 
And  with  this  parting-shot  the  doctor  majestically 
turned  away. 

"  So  that's  where  the  shoe  pinches !"  thought  Miller, 
as  he  entered  his  quarters,  where  presently  he  was 
joined  by  his  excited  wife. 

"  He  isn't  half  as  prostrated  as  you  thought  he'd 
be,"  she  instantly  exclaimed,  as  she  entered  the  room. 
"  Of  course  it  wouldn't  be  Mac  if  he  were  not  greatly 
distressed,  but  I  have  promised  him  that  not  a  word 
shall  leak  out  until  Captain  Forrest  gets  here,  and 
that  then  he  is  to  see  him  himself.  Isn't  it  dreadful 
about  Mr.  Hatton?  Can  nothing  be  done?" 

"  I  am  to  see  Bayard  again  by  and  by.  This  affair 
has  completely  unstrung  him,  for  he  is  evidently 
deeply  smitten ;  I  never  dreamed  it  had  gone  so  far. 
Now  that  letter  must  be  written  to  the  general,  and 


228  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

I  am  going  to  the  office.  You  must  not  know  a  thing 
about  it,  or  about  this  affair.  Of  course  you  will  be  be 
sieged  with  questions."  And  so  the  major  sallied  forth. 
Darkness  was  settling  down.  The  sunset-gun  had 
been  fired  just  as  they  left  McLean's.  By  this  time 
the  doctor  should  be  entertaining  his  guest  at  dinner, 
and  Miller  wondered  how  even  "  Chesterfield"  would 
rally  to  the  occasion  and  preserve  his  suavity  and 
courtliness  after  the  shock  of  the  last  hour.  But 
Miller  had  no  idea  that  it  was  the  last  of  three  shocks 
that  had  assailed  him  in  quick  succession  and  with 
increasing  severity  that  very  day,  and  never  dreamed 
of  the  gulf  of  distress  in  which  poor  Bayard  was 
plunged.  He  had  gone  at  once  to  his  library  and 
thrown  himself  in  the  easy-chair  in  an  attitude  of 
profound  dejection,  barely  paying  attention  when 
Chloe  entered  to  say  that  Miss  Nellie  begged  to  be 
excused  from  coming  down  to  dinner,  as  she  felt  too 
ill.  Then  Robert  entered  to  ask  should  he  serve 
dinner  or  wait  until  Mr.  Holmes  came  in.  "  Wait !" 
said  Bayard,  bluntly.  But  five  minutes  passed;  the 
dinner  would  be  overdone;  so  Robert  slipped  out  in 
search  of  the  truant,  and  Miller  saw  him  going  over 
to  Bedlam.  But  the  upper  gallery  was  empty;  Mr. 
Holmes  and  Miss  Forrest  had  disappeared;  the  adju 
tant  came  striding  up  from  the  guard-house,,  and 
together  the  two  officers  turned  away. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  229 

"  Orderly,"  said  the  major,  to  the  attendant  soldier 
following  at  his  heels,  "  find  Sergeant  Freeman,  who 
is  in  charge  of  the  cavalry  detachment,  and  tell  him 
I  want  him  at  once.  Then  go  and  get  your  supper." 
Meantime,  realizing  that  the  dinner-hour  was  at 
hand,  and  knowing  the  punctilious  ideas  of  his  host, 
Mr.  Holmes  had  somewhat  abruptly  bidden  adieu  to 
the  young  lady  with  whom  he  had  been  in  such 
interesting  conversation.  "I  must  see  you  again 
about  Hatton  if  possible,  and  just  as  soon  as  I  have 
found  out  what  this  means.  If  all  the  four  were 
together  at  McLean's  room  the  mischief  is  probably 
done,  but  I'll  see  him  at  once  unless  it  be  forbidden." 
He  was  turning  away  without  more  words,  when 
something  in  her  deep,  dark  eyes  seemed  to  detain 
him.  He  held  forth  his  hand. 

"  Miss  Forrest,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  appreciate 
the  honor  you  have  done  me  in  this  confidence.  It 
mav  be  the  means  of  my  making  more  than  one  man 
happy.  One  word,  where  is  Celestine  now?" 

"  She  should  be  in  the  dining-room,  setting  the  table 
for  tea.  Good-by,  then,  till  tattoo.  See  him  if  you 
can." 

"  Indeed  I  will,"  he  answered,  and  bowing  over  the 
slender,  richly-jewelled  hand  she  so  frankly  placed  in 
his,  he  slowly  released  it,  and  turned  away. 

"  In  the  dining-room,  is  she?"  muttered  Holmes  to 
20 


230  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

himself,  as  he  ran  lightly  through  the  hall  and  down 
the  stairs.  "  If  that  was  not  Miss  Celestine  I  saw  this 
moment  scurrying  in  from  the  direction  of  the  wood 
piles  out  yonder,  I'm  vastly  mistaken,  and  she  was 
talking  with  a  soldier  there.  I  saw  the  glint  of  the 
sunset  on  the  brasses  of  his  forage-cap.  I  thought 
they  all  had  to  be  at  retreat  roll-call,  but  this  fellow 
missed  it." 

Turning  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  he  strode  to  the 
rear  door,  and  looked  out  through  the  side-light  upon 
the  unpicturesqueness  of  the  yards,  the  coal-  and 
wood-sheds,  the  rough,  unpainted  board  fences;  the 
dismantled  gate,  propped  in  most  inebriate  style  against 
its  bark-covered  post,  and  clinging  thereto  with  but  a 
single  hinge.  At  this  half-closed  aperture  suddenly 
appeared  the  mulatto  girl,  stopped,  turned,  gave  a 
quick  glance  at  the  various  back  windows  of  Bedlam, 
waved  her  hand  to  a  dim,  soldierly  form  just  dis 
cernible  in  the  twilight  striding  toward  the  northern 
end  of  the  garrison,  then  she  came  scurrying  to  the 
door,  and  burst  in,  panting. 

"  Ah,  Celestine !  That  you?"  asked  Holmes,  pleas 
antly.  "I  thought  to  find  you  in  the  dining-room, 
and  stopped  to  ask  for  a  glass  of  water." 

At  sight  of  him  the  girl  had  almost  recoiled,  but 
his  cheery  voice  reassured  her. 

"Laws,   Mr.   Holmes!     I   done    thought   'twas   a 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  231 

ghost/7  she  laughed,  but  turned  quickly  from  him  as 
she  spoke  and  hurried  into  the  dining-room,  filling  a 
goblet  with  a  trembling  hand.     He  drank  the  water 
leisurely;  thanked   her,  and  strolled  with  his  accus 
tomed  deliberation  through  the  hall  and  out  across  the 
piazza,  never  appearing  to  notice  her  breathlessness  or 
agitation.     Once  outside  the  steps,  however,  his  delib 
eration  was  cast  aside,  and  with  rapid,  nervous  strides 
he  hastened  up  the  walk, — out  past  the  old  ordnance 
storehouse   and   the  lighted  windows  of  the   trader's 
establishment,  turned  sharply  to  the  west,  and,  sure 
enough,  coming  toward  him  was  a  brisk,  dapper,  slim- 
built  little  soldier  in  his  snugly-fitting  undress  uni 
form.     Holmes  stopped  short,  whipped  out  his  cigar- 
case  and  wind-matches,  thrust  a  Partaga  between  his 
teeth,  struck  a  light  as  the  soldier  passed  him  and  the 
broad  glare  from  the  north  window  fell  full  upon  the 
dapper  shape  and  well-carried  head.     Ther'e  was  the 
natty  forage-cap  with  the  gleaming  cross-sabres ;  there 
was  the  dark  face,  there  the  heavy  brows,  the  glitter 
ing  black  eyes,  the  moustache  and  imperial,  the  close- 
curling  hair,  of  the  very  man  he  had  seen  peeping  into 
the  parlor  windows  back  of  Mrs.  Griffin's  little  post- 
office  the  night  of  his  talk  with  Corporal  Zook. 

Ten  minutes  later  and  he  was  tapping  at  McLean's 
door.  It  was  opened  by  the  hospital  attendant, — 
slowly  and  only  a  few  inches. 


232  THE  qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"Can  I  see  the  lieutenant?"  he  asked. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  whispered  the  man,  mindful  of 
the  visitor's  prodigality  in  the  past  and  hopeful  of 
future  favors.  "  I  have  strict  orders  to  admit  nobody 
to-night  until  the  doctor  sees  him  again.  The  lieu 
tenant  isn't  so  well,  sir,  and  Dr.  Bayard  had  to  ad 
minister  sedatives  before  he  left.  I  think  he  is  sleep 
ing  just  now,  though  he  may  only  be  trying  to." 

Holmes  paused,  reluctant  and  a  little  irresolute. 

"  Is  there  nothing  I  can  do  or  say,  sir,  if  he 
wakes?"  asked  the  attendant. 

"  Can  you  give  him  a  letter  and  say  nothing  about 
it  to  anybody?" 

"Certainly  I  can, — if  it's  one  that  won't  harm 
him." 

"  It  will  do  him  good,  unless  I'm  mistaken ;  and 
he  ought  to  have  it  to-night :  he'll  sleep  better  for 
it.  I'll  give  it  to  you  at  tattoo. — Ah,  Robert!  I 
might  have  known  you'd  be  in  search  of  me  and 
that  I  was  delaying  dinner.  Say  I'll  be  there  in 
stantly." 

Meantime,  Sergeant  Freeman  had  reported  to  Major 
Miller  as  directed,  and  was  standing  attention,  cap 
in  hand,  at  that  officer's  desk,  while  the  adjutant  was 
scratching  away  across  the  room,  his  pen  racing  over 
the  paper  as  he  copied  the  despatch  his  commander 
had  slowly  and  thoughtfully  dictated. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  233 

"You  say  that  Parsons  is  the  best  man  to  send, 
sergeant  ?" 

"  I  don't  say  that,  sir,  exactly  ;  but  he's  the  lightest 
man  in  the  troop  and  has  the  fastest  horse  now  in  the 
post.  He  could  make  it  quicker  than  anybody  else, 
but " 

"But  what?  Doesn't  he  want  to  go?  Is  he 
afraid?"  asked  the  major,  impatiently. 

The  sergeant  flushed  a  little,  as  he  promptly  an 
swered, — 

"It  isn't  that,  sir.  He  wants  to  go.  There's  no 
man  in  the  troop,  sir,  that  would  be  safe  in  saying 
he  didn't  want  to  go." 

"Then  why  do  you  hesitate?" 

"Because  we  don't  know  Parsons  well,  sir;  he 
hasn't  been  with  us  more'n  a  year.  He  was  Lieu 
tenant  Blunt's  striker  till  the  lieutenant  was  wounded, 
but  Captain  Terry  had  him  returned  to  the  troop 
because  we  were  so  short  of  men  and  had  so  much 
scouting  to  do.  Then  Parsons  got  into  the  office  as 
company  clerk,  and  that's  where  he  is  now,  sir.  He 
writes  a  fine  hand  and  seemed  to  know  all  about 
papers." 

"  Where  had  he  served  before  joining  you  ?"  asked 
the  major. 

"  Nowhere,  sir.  He  says  he  learned  what  he  knows 
in  the  adjutant's  office  at  St.  Louis  barracks,  where 

20* 


234  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

they  had  the  cavalry  depot.  He's  been  a  barber,  I 
think,  on  a  Mississippi  steamboat,  bat  he  can  ride 
well." 

"  Well,  let  Parsons  be  the  man.  If  he  wants  to 
go  I  see  no  reason  why  he  shouldn't.  Tell  him  to 
report  here  mounted  and  ready  at  tattoo." 

But  it  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  before  Parsons  was 
ready, — a  singular  fact  when  it  is  remembered  that 
he  wanted  to  go, — and  Mr.  Holmes,  who  had  stopped 
a  moment  to  speak  with  Miss  Forrest  as  the  bugle 
ceased  playing  tattoo,  found  sufficient  interest  in  their 
chat  to  detain  him  until  just  as  the  signal  "  Lights 
out"  was  ringing  on  the  still  night-air.  Then  a  horse 
came  trotting  briskly  into  the  garrison  and  over  to 
the  adjutant's  office.  Holmes  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  rider  as  he  shot  under  the  gallery  and  through 
the  gleam  from  the  lower  windows.  That  face 
again ! 

Ten  minutes  afterward  this  inquisitive  civilian  was 
at  the  store,  and,  singling  out  one  of  half  a  dozen 
cowboys  who  were  laughing  and  drinking  at  the  bar, 
he  beckoned  him  to  come  outside.  The  others  fol 
lowed,  for  the  barkeeper,  in  obedience  to  post  orders, 
was  closing  up  his  shop.  Holmes  led  his  silent  fol 
lower  beyond  earshot  of  the  loungers  at  the  door-way. 

"Did  you  see  the  soldier  who  rode  past  here  just 
now?" 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  235 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Drake,  I've  picked  you  out  for  service  that  I  can 
intrust  to  no  one  else.  You've  never  failed  me  yet. 
Are  you  ready  for  a  long  ride  to-night?" 

"Anything  you  want,  Mr.  Holmes." 

"That  man's  orders  are  to  go  with  all  speed  to 
Fetterman  and,  after  resting  there  twenty-four  hours, 
to  take  it  easily  returning.  He'll  go  there  all  right, 
I  believe,  but  what  he  does  there  and  after  he  leaves 
there  I  want  to  know,  if  you  have  to  follow  to  Chey 
enne.  Here's  fifty  dollars.  If  he  jumps  the  track 
and  starts  for  the  railway  after  quitting  Fetterman, 
let  him  go ;  wire  me  from  Chugwater,  but  don't  lose 
track  of  him.  I'll  join  you  at  Cheyenne  or  Laramie 
City,  wherever  he  goes,  and  the  moment  you  strike 
the  settlements  put  the  sheriff  on  his  trail." 


XVIII. 

THREE  clays  slipped  away  without  noticeable 
changes  in  the  situation  at  Laramie.  It  was  late  on 
Tuesday  evening  when  the  courier  rode  away  with  his 
despatch,  and  on  Wednesday  afternoon  the  wire  from 
Fetterman  flashed  the  tidings  of  his  safe  arrival  there 
and  the  prompt  transmission  of  the  packet  in  pursuit 
of  the  escort  that  had  left  for  the  north  at  morn, 
Miller  breathed  more  freely,  as  did  his  good  wife,  as 
now  the  onus  of  this  great  source  of  distress  would 
be  shifted  to  other  shoulders.  "A  family  affair  of 
much  importance — no  less  than  the  more  than  prob 
able  connection  of  one  of  his  household  with  a  series 
of  extensive  thefts — demanded  that  Captain  Forrest, 
if  a  possible  thing,  be  sent  hither  at  once,"  was  the 
burden  of  the  major's  letter,  and  he  knew  that,  if  a 
possible  thing,  the  general  would  find  means  of  order 
ing  the  captain  in  on  some  duty  which  would  give  no 
inkling  of  the  real  nature  of  the  ordeal  awaiting  him. 
Thursday  afternoon,  late,  Parsons  was  to  start  on  his 
return,  would  probably  rest  or  camp  at  the  deserted 
huts  of  the  ranchmen  at  La  Bonte,  possibly  at  the 
"  Lapperell,"  as  the  frontiersmen  termed  the  little 
stream  the  French  trappers  had  years  before  named 
236 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  237 

La  Prtte,  and  should  reach  the  fort  some  time  Friday 
evening,  though  there  was  no  hurry  and  he  had  full 
authority,  if  he  saw  fit,  to  rest  his  horse  another  night 
at  Bull  Bend  or  anywhere  he  pleased.  No  one  in 
authority  was  giving  that  matter  a  thought,  but  it 
was  exactly  that  matter  that  kept  Roswell  Holmes  on 
the  watch  at  Laramie  when  he  would  rather  have 
gone  away.  To  his  keen  eyes  it  was  evident  that, 
despite  all  Bayard's  efforts  to  appear  jovial  and  cour 
teous  as  ever,  he  was  in  sore  perplexity.  Nellie,  too, 
was  again  keeping  her  room,  and  Jeannie  Bruce,  with 
white  face  and  red-rimmed  eyes,  was  the  only  com 
panion  she  really  welcomed.  Thursday  night  had 
come,  and  the  letter  he  was  to  have  handed  in  for 
McLean's  benefit  and  peace  of  mind  was  still  with 
held.  Any  hour  might  enable  him  to  speak  positively, 
whereas  now  he  could  only  theorize.  Meantime,  Mrs. 
Miller  assured  him  that  the  young  officer  who  "  had 
been  temporarily  set  back  by  the  bad  news  from  Mr. 
Hatton"  was  doing  very  well  under  the  influence  of 
better  tidings.  On  Thursday  morning  a  despatch  from 
the  stockade  brought  the  welcome  information  from 
Dr.  Weeks  that  Hatton's  rugged  constitution  seemed 
proof  against  the  enemy ;  he  was  gaining  again. 

Meantime,  not  a  word  did  Miller,  Bayard,  or  the 
adjutant  breathe  of  that  conference  with  McLean,  and 
neither  Mr.  Holmes  nor  Miss  Forrest  could  form  the 


238  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

faintest  idea  of  what  had  taken  place.  They  had  their 
theories  and  had  frankly  exchanged  them,  and  what 
caused  Mrs.  Miller  infinite  amaze  and  the  garrison  a 
new  excitement  was  this  growing  companionship  be 
tween  the  Chicago  millionaire  and  the  "  Queen  of 
Bedlam."  Thrice  now  had  they  been  seen  on  the 
gallery  ttte-ct-tete,  and  once,  leaning  on  his  arm,  she 
had  appeared  on  the  walk.  To  the  ladies  there  was 
no  theory  so  popular  as  the  one  that  she  was  setting 
her  cap  for  him  in  good  earnest  now  that  Nellie  Bay 
ard  was  confined  to  her  room;  and  when  Mrs.  Miller 
met  him  she  longed  to  speak  upon  the  subject.  She 
could  well-nigh  thank  any  woman  who  could  draw 
this  formidable  rival  awa}r  and  leave  the  ground  to 
her  wounded  and  deeply-smitten  lieutenant ;  but  could 
she  see  him  becoming  entangled  in  the  toils  of  Miss 
Forrest,  knowing  what  she  did  of  that  young  woman's 
dreadful  moral  affliction  ?  There  was  no  way  in  which 
she  could  warn  him.  She  had  pledged  her  word  to 
the  major  that  not  a  whisper  should  escape,  and  though 
Mrs.  Bruce  had  managed  to  derive  from  a  conversation 
with  her  that  Captain  Forrest  had  been  sent  for,  it  was 
accomplished  by  that  feminine  device,  now  so  success 
fully  imitated  by  the  so-called  interviewers  of  the 
public  press,  of  making  assertions  and  hazarding  sug 
gestions  which  could  not  be  truthfully  denied.  The 
lady  longed  to  take  Holmes  into  her  confidence, — and 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  239 

could  not ;  and  Holmes  longed  to  ask  her  what  allega 
tions  had  been  made  against  McLean  and  how  he  had 
borne  them, — yet  dared  not.  Both  to  him  and  the 
Queen  of  Bedlam  that  was  the  explanation  of  the 
simultaneous  gathering,  at  the  quarters  of  the  young 
officer,  of  the  commandant,  surgeon,  and  adjutant. 
Holmes  boldly  inquired  of  the  doctor  what  had  taken 
place,  asserting  that  he  was  interested  in  McLean  and 
wanted  to  help  him,  if  he  was  in  trouble ;  and  in  great 
embarrassment  the  doctor  had  begged  to  be  excused 
from  reply.  He  would  not  deny  that  McLean  was  in 
trouble,— in  grave  trouble,— but  there  was  nothing 
tangible  as  yet.  Nothing  was  to  be  said  or  done  until 
— well,  until  he  was  much  better  and  able  to  be  about. 

Friday  afternoon  came,  warm,  sunshiny,  and  de 
lightful.  At  four  o'clock  the  doctor's  carriage — an 
open,  easy,  old-fashioned-looking  affair — rolled  out  of 
the  garrison  with  Nellie  Bayard  and  Jeanuie  Bruce 
smiling  on  the  back  seat,  while  Bayard  himself  han 
dled  the  reins.  There  was  a  vacant  place  beside  him, 
and,  just  as  he  possibly  expected,  Miss  Forrest  came 
out  on  the  gallery  and  waved  her  hand  and  smiled 
cordial  greeting  to  the  two  girls.  Instantly  he  reined 
in  his  eager  horses,  almost  bringing  them  upon  their 
haunches,  and  called  up  to  her: 

"This  is  the  best  piece  of  luck  that  has  befallen  me 
since  I  came  to  Laramie.  I've  caught  you  when  you 


240  THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

could  not  be  engaged.  Do  come  and  join  us,  Miss 
Forrest !  I'm  taking  my  little  invalid  out  for  a  drive 
in  the  sunshine,  and  it  will  do  you,  too,  a  world  of 
good.  Do  come!" 

But  Miss  Forrest's  clear  voice  was  heard  in  prompt 
and  positive  regret.  It  was  impossible:  she  had  an 
engagement  that  would  occupy  her  a  full  hour,  and 
while  she  thanked  the  doctor — thanked  them  all — for 
stopping  for  her,  it  could  not  be.  "  I  am  so  glad  to 
see  you  out  again,  Miss  Nellie,"  she  called.  "Now, 
I  shall  hope  to  have  you  come  and  spend  an  hour  with 
me  over  here." 

The  doctor  could  hardly  conceal  his  chagrin.  Again 
he  begged.  Again  his  offer  was  courteously  but  posi 
tively  declined.  Nellie  gave  but  faint  response  to 
Miss  Forrest's  greetings.  Jeannie  Bruce  looked 
fixedly  away,  and  finally  the  horses  received  a  sharp 
and  most  unnecessary  touch  of  the  lash,  and  went 
bounding  away  from  "Bedlam"  in  a  style  that 
reflected  small  credit  on  the  merits  of  the  driver, 
and  that  nearly  bruised  the  backs  of  his  fair  pas 
sengers. 

Reclining  half  dressed,  in  a  big  easy-chair,  Ran 
dall  McLean  heard  the  crash  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and 
the  whirr-r-r  of  the  wheels  on  the  gravelly  road  in 
front,  and  demanded  of  the  attendant  an  account  of 
the  party. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  241 

"  The  doctor,  sir,  and  the  two  young  ladies — out  for 
a  drive." 

McLean  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Mrs.  Miller  had 
gone  home  some  time  before  on  household  cares  intent, 
and  the  doctor  was  by  this  time  out  of  the  garrison. 
It  left  the  patient  master  of  the  situation. 

"Get  this  chair  out  on  the  gallery,"  he  presently 
said,  as  he  slowly  raised  himself  to  his  feet  and  leaned 
for  support  against  the  table.  "  Put  a  robe  and  pillow 
in  it.  Then  come  back  and  help  me  out." 

The  soldier  demurred  and  would  have  argued,  but 
Mr.  McLean  silenced  him,  and  presently,  in  his  best 
blue  fatigue-coat  and  with  a  white  silk  handkerchief 
around  his  neck  and  his  fatigue-cap  tilted  over  one 
eye,  the  young  officer,  leaning  on  the  attendant's  arm, 
slowly  made  his  way  into  the  open  air  and  was  soon 
comfortably  ensconced  in  the  big  arm-chair  again. 
Several  men  of  his  company,  smoking  on  the  piazza 
of  the  quarters  across  the  parade,  arose,  put  away 
their  pipes,  and  came  over  to  stand  attention  and 
salute  their  popular  lieutenant,  and  to  say  how  glad 
they  were  to  see  him  able  to  sit  up  again.  It  touched 
McLean's  sad  and  lonely  heart  to  see  the  pleasure  and 
the  trust  and  faith  in  their  brown,  honest  faces,  and 
the  tears  came  welling  up  to  his  eyes  as  he  held  out 
his  hand,  calling  them  by  name  to  step  up  on  the 
gallery  where  he  could  see  them  better  and  give  each 

L          q  21 


242  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

man  a  cordial  though  feeble  response  to  the  hearty 
pressure  of  their  brawny  hands.  Then  he  bade  the 
attendant,  after  a  little  chat  about  Mr.  Hatton's  con 
dition  and  the  more  hopeful  news,  to  take  them  in 
and  give  them  a  drink  of  Monongahela ;  but  Corporal 
Stein  promptly  declined  :  he  wouldn't  have  it  thought 
they  came  with  that  hope,  when  their  sole  wish  was  to 
congratulate  their  young  officer;  and,  though  one  or 
two  of  them,  not  so  sensitive  as  the  corporal,  doubtless 
took  him  to  task  at  a  later  moment,  they  one  and  all 
upheld  him  now.  They  would  not  go  in  and  drink, 
but  presently  returned  to  their  barracks,  comforted 
with  the  reflection  that  they  had  done  the  proper 
thing. 

Meantime,  Miss  Forrest  had  seen  their  approach, 
and,  hearing  the  voices  on  the  lower  gallery,  readily 
divined  that  Mr.  McLean  must  be  sitting  up  and 
taking  the  air.  Five  minutes  after  the  men  were 
gone,  and  as  that  young  gentleman  was  wondering 
about  what  time  the  carriage  would  return,  he  heard 
a  quick,  light  footstep  along  the  wooden  floor,  the 
rustle  of  feminine  skirts,  and  almost  before  he  could 
turn,  the  cordial,  musical  voice  of  the  Queen  of 
Bedlam  : 

"Mr.  McLean,  how  rejoiced  I  am  to  see  you 'sit 
ting  up !  This  is  simply  delightful." 

For  an  instant  he  knew  not  what  to  say — how  to 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  243 

greet  her.  Heavens!  what  thoughts  of  that  gloomy 
council  went  surging  through  his  brain.  He  tried  to 
speak,  tried  to  conceal  his  grievous  embarrassment, 
but  his  gaunt  face  flushed  painfully  and  the  thin 
hand  he  extended  in  acknowledgment  of  hers  was 
cold  as  ice.  The  nurse  promptly  brought  a  chair, 
set  it  close  by  the  side  of  the  big  arm-chair ;  then  as 
promptly  vanished,  as  she  gracefully  thanked  him 
and  took  it.  This  was  a  contingency  that  had  not 
occurred  to  McLean  for  an  instant.  His  whole  idea 
had  been  to  be  where  he  could  see  Nellie's  face,  pos 
sibly  receive  a  smile  and  bow,  possibly  a  joyous  word 
or  two  on  her  return.  He  had  been  able  for  the  time 
being  to  forget  all  about  Miss  Forrest  and  the  part 
he  had  been  compelled  to  play  in  surrounding  her 
with  that  web  of  evidence  and  suspicion,  and  now,  at 
this  most  inopportune  moment,  here  stood  this  gra 
cious  and  graceful  girl  smiling  at  his  side. 

For  a  few  moments  more  it  was  she  who  did  most 
of  the  talking;  Hatton,  Captain  Terry's  Grays,  and 
the  fight  down  the  Platte  furnishing  her  with  abun 
dant  material  for  blithe  comment  and  congratulations. 
His  constraint  and  solemnity  of  mien  she  attributed 
to  physical  suffering  combined  with  distress  of  mind 
over*  the  charges  she  believed  to  have  been  laid  at 
his  door;  and,  while  avoiding  all  mention  of  that 
subject,  it  was  her  earnest  desire  to  show  him  by 


244  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

every  trick  of  woman's  infinite  variety  and  shade  of 
manner  that  she  had  nothing  but  admiration  for  his 
soldierly  conduct,  and  trust  and  friendship  for  him 
in  his  troubles.  Poor  Mac  was  but  vague,  unrespon 
sive,  and  embarrassed  in  his  acknowledgments,  and 
then — she  noted  how  his  eyes  were  constantly  wander 
ing  away  up  the  road,  and,  with  woman's  quick  intui 
tion,  divined  that  he  was  out  there  for  no  other  pur 
pose  than  to  watch  for  the  return  of  the  doctor's 
carriage. 

Presently  it  came  in  sight,  driving  rapidly,  and, 
recalling  everything  that  she  had  heard  from  Mr. 
Holmes  in  their  recent  talks  of  the  doctor's  distrust 
and  antipathy  toward  McLean,  Miss  Forrest  quickly 
arose  and  stepped  to  the  end  of  the  gallery.  She 
had  determined  that  the  young  soldier  should  not  be 
balked  in  so  modest  a  hope  as  that  of  seeing  and 
being  seen  by  the  girl  he  loved.  She  felt  assured 
that  unless  he  was  signalled  or  checked  in  some  way 
the  doctor  would  drive  by  "  full  tilt,"  and,  with  the 
quickness  of  thought,  she  had  formed  her  plan.  The 
sight  of  Fanny  Forrest,  standing  at  the  north  end  of 
the  gallery  and  holding  aloft  her  white  palm  in  the 
exact  gesture  of  the  Indian  and  frontiersman  signal 
ling  "stop,"  was  enough  to  make  him  bring  the 
powerful  team  back  on  their  haunches  directly  in 
front  of  the  steps,  and,  before  a  word  could  be  said 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  245 

in  explanation,  there,  flashing  feebly,  was  Eandall 
McLean,  striving  to  lift  himself  from  his  nest  of 
robes  and  pillows,  and  salute  the  lady  of  his  heart. 

Lachlan   stepped    quickly   forward   from   the   hall 
and,  with  him  on  one  side  and  Miss  Forrest  smiling 
on  the  other,  McLean  was  half  lifted  to  the  railing, 
where  he  could   look   right  into  the  bonnie  face  he 
longed  to   see.     Nellie   Bayard,  sitting   nearest   him, 
flushed  crimson  at  the  first  glimpse  at  the  tall,  gaunt 
figure,  and  her  little  hand  tightly  closed  beneath  the 
lap-robe  on  the  sturdier   fingers  of  Miss  Bruce.     A 
joyous  light  danced   only  one   instant   in    her   eyes, 
and  died  out  as  quickly  as  the  flush  upon  her  cheek 
at   sight   of  Miss    Forrest's   supporting    arm.      Was 
this,  then,  the  engagement  which    prevented   her  ac 
ceptance  of  the   doctor's   offer?     Was   this  the  way 
in  which  the  hero  of   her  girlish  dreams  should  be 
restored   to  her,— with   that   bewilderingly  handsome 
and  fascinating  New  York   girl   at   his  side,  almost 
possessively  supporting   and   exhibiting    him?      The 
sight  had  stung  the  doctor    too,  and   the  same  idea 
about   the   engagement  seemed  to  flash   through   his 

head. 

"This  will  never  do,  Mr.  McLean,"  he  sternly 
spoke,  "  you  are  in  no  condition  to  venture  out ;  I'll 
be  over  to  see  you  in  a  minute.  Get  back  to  your 
room  as  quick  as  you  can."  And  with  these  words 


21* 


246  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

he   whipped   up   his    team   again,    and    the   carriage 
flashed  away.     Nellie  had  not  spoken  a  word. 

For  a  moment  they  stood  there  stunned.  McLean 
gazed  bitterly  after  the  retreating  vehicle  a  moment, 
then  turned  with  questioning  eyes  to  his  silent  com 
panion.  She,  too,  was  gazing  fixedly  after  the  doctor's 
little  party,  her  color  fluttering,  her  eyes  glowing,  and 
her  white  teeth  setting  firmly.  Then  impulsively  she 
turned  to  him : 

"This  is  all  my  fault,  all  my  stupidity,  Mr.  Mc 
Lean  ;  I  might  have  known.  Forgive  me  for  the 
sake  of  my  good  intentions,  and  depend  upon  it,  good 
shall  yet  come  of  this,  for  now  I  have  a  crow  to  pick 
with  Dr.  Bayard,  and  I  mean  to  see  him  before  he  sees 
you.  Are  you  going  in, — at  once?" 

"Yes.  There's  nothing  else  to  do/'  he  answered, 
wearily,  hopelessly,  wretchedly,  as  he  slowly  turned 
away. 

"  Mr.  McLean  !"  she  exclaimed,  with  sudden  and 
irrepressible  excitement  of  manner.  "Stop! — one 
moment  only.  There's  something  I  must  say  to  you. 
Lachlan,  please  step  inside  the  hall,"  she  hurriedly 
continued.  "I'll  call  you  in  plenty  of  time  before 
the  doctor  can  get  here.  Now,  Mr.  McLean,  listen  ! 
I  know  something  of  your  trouble.  I  know  some 
thing  of  the  toils  by  which  you  have  been  surrounded, 
and  how  unjustly  you  have  been  treated ;  but  let  me 


THE  qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  247 

tell  you  that  the  very  man  you  have  most  feared  is  the 
man  of  all  others  who  stands  your  steadfast  friend. 
Look !  He's  coming  now.  Coming  fast,  too — from 
the  telegraph  office.  I  almost  know  what  it  is  he 
brings.  One  more  thing  I  must  say  while  yet  there  is 
time.  I  could  not  help  seeing  how  your  heart  was 
bound  up  in  Nellie  Bayard.  Nay,  don't  turn  away  in 
such  despair.  I  read  her  better  than  you  do,  and  I 
know  you  better  than  you  think.  I  tell  you  brighter 
days  are  near.  Keep  up  a  brave  heart,  Mr.  McLean. 
Remember  your  name;  remember  'The  race  of  Clan 
Gillian— the  fearless  and  free.'  I  tell  you  that  were  I 
a  man  I  could  envy  you  the  truth  I  read  in  Nellie 
Bayard's  eyes.  All  is  coming  out  well,  and  there's  my 
hand  and  my  heart  full  of  good  wishes  with  it." 

He  took  it  wonderingly,  silently.  Good  heavens! 
Was  this  the  woman  who,  through  his  testimony,  stood 
accused  of  degrading  crimes?  Was  it  possible  that 
she  could  have  been  the  criminal,  and  yet  at  the  very 
time  could  write  those  mysterious  words  upon  the 
hidden  card — proffering  aid  and  friendship?  What 
manner  of  woman  was  this  now  quivering  with  ex 
citement  at  his  side,  her  glowing  eyes  fastened  on  the 
rapidly  advancing  form  of  Roswell  Holmes?  What 
meant  she  by  speaking  of  the  man  he  most  feared  as 
his  most  steadfast  friend? 

Just  as  Major  and   Mrs.   Miller  with  Dr.  Bayard 


248  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

stepped  upon  the  broad  gallery  of  Bedlam  at  its 
southern  end  and  stopped  in  embarrassment  at  sight 
of  the  group  at  the  other,  Mr.  Holmes  had  bounded 
up  the  steps  and,  placing  in  her  hand  a  telegraphic 
despatch,  held  forth  his  own  to  Randall  McLean. 
"  Read  it  aloud !"  was  all  he  said,  and  eagerly  she 

obeyed : 

"  CHUGWATER,  Friday,  4  P.M. 

"  ROSWELL  HOLMES,  ESQ.,  Fort  Laramie.— Parsons 
streaking  it  for  Cheyenne.     Has  plenty  money.    Close 

at  his  heels. 

«  DRAKE." 


XIX. 

WHATEVER  sensation  or  suppressed  mystery  may 
have  existed  at  the  post  prior  to  the  receipt  of  the 
brief  despatch  announcing  that  the  soldier,  Parsons, 
had  "  bolted,"  it  was  all  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
excitements  of  the  week  that  followed.  Miller's  first 
impulse,  when  Mr.  Holmes  placed  the  brown  scrap  of 
paper  in  his  hands,  was  to  inquire  how  it  happened 
that  a  civilian  should  concern  himself  with  the  move 
ments  of  his  men,  either  in  or  out  of  garrison,  but 
something  in  the  expression  of  Miss  Forrest's  face  as 
she  walked  calmly  past  him  on  the  way  to  her  room, 
and  in  the  kindling  eyes  of  this  popular  and  respected 
gentleman  gave  him  decided  pause. 

"  There  is  a  matter  behind  all  this  which  I  ought  to 
know,  is  there  not  ?"  was  therefore  his  quiet  inquiry ; 
and  when  Mr.  Holmes  assured  him  that  there  was, 
and  the  two  went  off  together  arm  in  arm,  leaving 
Mrs.  Miller  to  wonder  what  it  all  could  mean,  and  to 
go  in  and  upbraid  her  pet  lieutenant  for  venturing 
from  his  room  when  still  so  weak,  it  was  soon  evident 
to  more  eyes  than  those  of  Dr.  Bayard  that  something 
of  unusual  interest  was  indeed  brewing,  and  that  the 
ordinarily  genial  and  jovial  major  was  powerfully 

249 


250  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

moved.  In  ten  minutes  the  two  men  were  at  the 
telegraph  office  and  the  operator  was  "  calling"  Chey 
enne.  An  hour  later^  after  another  brief  and  earnest 
talk  with  Miss  Forrest  on  the  upper  gallery  of  "  Bed 
lam,"  Mr.  Holmes's  travelling  wagon  rolled  into  the 
garrison  and  away  he  went.  At  midnight  he  was 
changing  horses  at  "The  Chug."  The  next  day  he 
was  at  Cheyenne  and  wired  the  major  from  that  point. 
Two  days  more  and  he  was  heard  from  at  Denver,  and 
then  there  was  silence. 

At  the  end  of  the  week  Private  Parsons,  of  Terry's 
Grays,  who  had  been  carried  for  three  or  four  suc 
cessive  mornings  as  "on  detached  service,"  then  as 
"  absent  without  leave,"  was  formally  accounted  for  as 
"deserted,"  and  it  began  to  be  whispered  about  the 
garrison  that  grave  and  decidedly  sensational  reasons 
attended  his  sudden  disappearance.  Dr.  Bayard  had 
a  long  and  private  interview  with  the  commanding 
officer,  who  showed  him  a  letter  received  from  Mr. 
Holmes,  and  went  home  to  Nellie  with  a  dazed  look 
on  his  distinguished  face.  The  sight  of  Randall  Mc 
Lean,  seated  on  the  front  piazza,  and  in  blithe  con 
versation  with  that  young  lady  and  her  friend  Miss 
Bruce,  for  an  instant  caused  him  to  halt  short  at  his 
own  gate,  but,  mastering  whatever  emotion  possessed 
him,  the  doctor  marched  straight  up  to  that  rapidly 
recuperating  officer,  who  was  trying  to  find  his  feet 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  251 

and  show  due  respect  to  the  master  of  the  house, 
and,  bidding  him  keep  his  seat,  bent  over  and  took 
his  hand  and  confused  him  more  than  a  little  by  the 
unexpected  and  really  inexplicable  warmth  of  his 
greeting. 

McLean,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  constraint 
and  coldness  of  manner  on  the  part  of  the  post  sur 
geon,  was  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  sudden  change. 
Nellie,  whose  sweet  eyes  had  marked  with  no  little 
uneasiness  her  father's  hurried  coming,  flushed  with 
relief  and  shy  delight  at  this  unlooked-for  welcome; 
and  Jeannie  Bruce,  to  use  her  own  expression  when 
telling  of  it  afterward,  was  aall  taken  aback."  She 
and  Mrs.  Miller  had  between  them  planned  that  Mr. 
McLean  should  walk  over  with  the  latter,  early  in  the 
afternoon,  just  as  though  out  for  a  little  airing  and  to 
try  his  legs  after  their  unaccustomed  rest.  Nellie  and 
Miss  Bruce  were  to  happen  out  on  the  piazza  at  the 
moment  (and  the  details  of  this  portion  of  the  plan 
were  left  to  the  ingenuity  of  "  Bonnie  Jean"  herself, 
who  well  knew  that  it  must  be  accomplished  without 
a  germ  of  suspicion  on  the  part  of  her  shy  and  sensi 
tive  little  friend),  and  McLean  was  to  be  escorted  in 
by  Mrs.  Miller,  who  was  presently  to  leave,  promising 
to  come  back  for  him  in  a  few  moments.  Then,  when 
the  ice  was  broken  and  Nellie  was  beginning  to  feel 
more  at  ease  after  the  mysterious  estrangement  and 


252  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

this  sudden  reappearance  of  her  old  friend,  Jean,  too, 
was  to  be  called  away  and  the  pair  be  left  alone. 
Arch  plotters  that  these  women  are !  They  had 
chosen  the  hour  when  the  doctor  almost  invariably 
took  his  siesta,  and  both  ladies  had  warned  their 
friends  on  no  account  to  select  that  opportunity  to 
rush  over  and  congratulate  the  lieutenant  on  his  con 
valescence, — a  thing  the  Gordon  girls  would  have 
been  sure  to  do.  Miss  Bruce  had  gone  so  far  as  to 
ask  Mrs.  Miller  if  she  did  not  think  it  might  be  well 
to  "  post"  Miss  Forrest,  who  had  been  almost  daily 
seen  conversing  with  Mr.  McLean  since  he  began  to 
sit  out  on  the  gallery  again ;  but  Mrs.  Miller  promptly 
replied  that  there  was  no  need  to  tell  Miss  Forrest 
anything.  "  She  has  more  sense  than  all  of  the  rest 
of  us  put  together,'7  were  the  surprising  words  of  the 
reply,  aas  I  have  excellent  reasons  to  know." 

What  could  have  happened  to  so  radically  change 
Mrs.  Miller's  estimate  of  and  regard  for  the  "  Queen 
of  Bedlam?"  was  Jean  Bruce's  natural  question  of 
her  mother  that  night,  and  Mrs.  Bruce  was  in  a 
quandary  how  to  answer  and  not  betray  the  secret 
that  had  been  confided  to  her.  From  having  avoided 
and  distrusted  Miss  Fanny  Forrest,  it  was  now  no 
ticeable  to  the  entire  garrison  that  Mrs.  Miller  was 
exerting  herself  to  be  more  than  civil. 

It  was  too  late  to  change   the  plan  of  the  after- 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  253 

noon's  campaign  when  the  major's  orderly  came 
around  to  Dr.  Bayard's  with  the  compliments  of  the 
commanding  officer  and  a  request  that  the  doctor 
join  him  at  his  quarters  as  soon  as  possible.  Al 
though  he  was  gone  nearly  an  hour,  he  returned 
before  McLean  had  been  with  the  girls  more  than  a 
quarter  of  that  time,  and  changed  their  apprehen 
sion  into  wonderment  and  secret  joy  by  the  extreme — 
almost  oppressive — courtesy  of  manner  to  his  unbid 
den  guest. 

"It  was  just  as  though  he  was  trying  to  make 
amends  for  something,"  said  Miss  Bruce,  in  telling 
of  it  afterward.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that 
after  urging  McLean  to  take  a  good  rest  where  he 
was  and  to  come  again  and  "sun  himself"  on  their 
piazza,  and  being  unaccountably  cordial  in  his  mono 
logue  (for  the  younger  officer  hardly  knew  how  to 
express  himself  under  the  circumstances),  the  doctor 
finally  vanished.  Jeannie  Bruce  was  so  utterly  "  taken 
aback"  by  it  all  that  for  some  minutes  she  totally 
forgot  her  part  in  the  little  drama.  Then,  suddenly 
recalling  the  role  she  was  to  play,  despite  the 
appeal  and  protest  and  dismay  in  Elinor's  pleading 
eyes,  Miss  Bruce,  too,  sped  away  and  the  two  were 
left  alone.  From  the  south  end  of  the  gallery  at 
Bedlam  Miss  Forrest  looked  smilingly  upon  the 
scene  and  would  fain  have  rewarded  Bonnie  Jean 

22 


254  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

by  blowing  a  kiss  to  her,  but  Jeannie's  eyes  were 
focussed  on  a  little  party  of  horsemen  just  dismount 
ing  in  front  of  the  commanding  officer's.  They 
might  bring  news  from  the  cantonment, — perhaps  a 
little  note  from  her  own  particular  hero,  Mr.  Hatton. 

Nearing  them  she  recognized  the  leader  as  a  ser 
geant  of  Captain  Terry's  troop,  and  knew  well  from 
the  trim  appearance  of  the  men  and  their  smooth- 
shaven  cheeks  and  chins  that  they  were  just  setting 
forth,  not  just  returning  from  the  field.  The  adju 
tant  came  hurrying  down  the  steps  of  the  major's 
quarters  just  as  she  reached  the  gate,  and  raised  his 
forage-cap  at  sight  of  her. 

"You  can  start  at  once,  sergeant,"  she  heard  him 
say.  "  Now  remember  :  to-morrow  evening  will  be 
time  enough  for  you  to  land  your  party  at  Fort 
Kussell.  Report  on  arrival  to  the  commanding  officer, 
and  permit  none  of  your  men  to  go  into  Cheyenne 
until  he  sends  you.  Then  you  are  to  return  here 
with  whatever  may  be  intrusted  to  your  care." 

She  was  not  at  all  surprised  on  reaching  home  to 
find  her  mother  and  Mrs.  Miller  watching  with  eager 
eyes  the  departure  of  the  cavalrymen.  McLean  and 
Nellie  Bayard  saw  it  too,  and  it  gave  them  something 
to  talk  about  a  whole  hour  that  afternoon,  and  paved 
the  way  for  another  talk  the  next  day — and  the 
next. 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  255 

That  night,  in  quick  succession,  the  telegraph 
brought  four  despatches  to  Laramie.  As  in  duty 
bound,  the  messenger  went  first  to  the  commanding 
officer,  who  held  out  his  hand  for  all  four  and  was 
surprised  at  being  accorded  only  two.  "  These  are 
for  Miss  Forrest,  sir,"  said  the  messenger.  The 
major  broke  the  envelope  of  his  own,  glanced  at  the 
first,  and  snapped  his  fingers  with  delight  and  exulta 
tion. 

"  They've  got  him,  Lizzie !"  he  chuckled  to  his 
eager  helpmate.  Then  he  tore  open  the  other.  The 
glad  look  vanished  in  an  instant;  the  light  of  hope, 
relief,  and  satisfaction  fled  from  his  eyes  and  the  color 
from  his  cheeks.  "  My  God !"  he  muttered,  as  his 
hand  fell  by  his  side. 

"  What  is  it,  dear  ?"  she  queried,  anxiously. 

"  Forrest  is  coming — post-haste.  Will  be  here  to 
morrow  night.  Now  she's  got  to  be  told." 

"  Then,  as  it  is  all  my  fault,  I  must  be  the  one," 
was  the  reply. 

But  even  as  they  were  discussing  the  matter,  irres 
olute,  distressed,  there  was  a  ring  at  the  bell ;  and 
in  a  moment  who  should  enter  the  parlor,  holding 
in  her  hand  those  fateful  telegrams,  but  Miss  Forrest 
herself?  She  came  straight  toward  them — smiling, 
and  Mrs.  Miller  and  her  half-dazed  major  arose  to 
greet  her. 


256  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

"  I  suppose  I  may  be  taken  into  official  confidences 
to-night;  may  I  not,  major ?"  she  said,  gayly.  "Mr. 
Holmes  has  probably  wired  us  news  which  we  can 
exchange.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  recovery  of 
your  deserter,  and  you  can  rejoice  with  me  in  the 
recovery  of  my  diamonds." 

"  Your  diamonds !"  exclaimed  the  major  and  his 
good  wife  in  a  breath.  "When — how  were  they 
taken?  Why  did  you  not  tell  us?" 

"  They  were  taken  from  my  room — from  my  locked 
trunk — the  night  of  Dr.  Bayard's  dinner, — the  same 
night  that  his  porte-monnaie  and  his  beautiful  ame 
thyst  set  were  stolen  from  Mr.  Holmes.  I  did  not 
tell  any  one  at  first,  because  of  Mrs.  Forrest's  pros 
trated  condition,  and  because  at  first  I  suspected  her 
servant  Celestine  and  thought  I  could  force  her  into 
restoring  them  without  letting  poor  Ruth  know  any 
thing  about  it.  Then  I  couldn't  speak  of  it,  for  the 
next  -discovery  I  made  simply  stunned  me  and  made 
me  ill.  Then,  finally,  I  told  Mr.  Holmes,  and  he 
took  the  matter  in  charge.  You  have  heard  from  my 
brother,  too  ?"  she  asked  eagerly.  "  I  am  rejoiced  at 
his  coming,  for  it  will  do  her  a  world  of  good,  and 
she  is  wild  with  excitement  and  happiness  now.  How 
was  it  all  managed,  major?  He  wrote  to  me  a  fort 
night  ago  that  with  the  prospect  of  incessant  fighting 
before  them  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  ask  for  leave 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  257 

of  absence,  and  begging  me  to  help  Ruth  in  every  way 
in  my  power  and  save  her  from  worry  of  any  kind. 
You  see  how  I  was  placed.  And  now,  all  of  a  sudden, 
he  is  virtually  ordered  in,  he  wires  me,  and  can  at 
tribute  it  to  nothing  but  dangerous  illness  on  her  part. 
Did  you  get  it  for  him?  I  know  you  did." 

Miller  and  his  wife  looked  at  her,  then  at  one 
another  in  dumb  amaze.  What  could  he  say  ?  How 
could  he  force  himself  to  tell  this  brave  and  spirited 
and  self-sacrificing  girl  of  the  cloud  of  suspicion  with 
which  she  had  been  enveloped ! 

"  Tell  me  about  the  diamonds,"  gasped  Mrs.  Miller 
to  gain  time.  "Were  they  valuable?  Though  of 
course  they  must  have  been.  Everything  of  yours  is 
so  beautiful  and — well,  I  must  say  it  all  now — costly." 

"  They  were  a  present  from  my  uncle,  Mr.  Court- 
landt,"  she  answered,  simply.  "  I  valued  them  more 
than  anything  I  had.  The  trunk  was  entered  by  false 
keys,  and  the  diamonds  were  taken  out  of  their  locked 
case  and  spirited  away.  My  first  suspicion  attached  to 
Celestine  and  her  soldier  friend.  They  had  been 
aroused  before  at  Robinson.  Then  came  this  stunning 
surprise  in  my  discovery  next  day,  and  a  week  of  great 
indecision  and  distress.  Now,  of  course,  the  inspira 
tion  of  the  villany  is  captured,  though  more  than  ever 
do  I  suspect  Celestine  as  being  confederate,  or  possibly 
principal  actor.  She  has  been  utterly  daft  the  last 
r  24* 


258  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

four  days  and  constantly  haunting  the  post-office  for 
a  letter  that  never  comes." 

"She  will  be  wild  enough  when  she  knows  the 
truth/'  said  Miller,  hoarsely.  "  The  scoundrel  had  a 
wife  in  Denver,  where  he  was  finally  tracked  and 
jailed.  It  was  she  who  offered  the  diamonds  in  pawn. 
They  did  not  manage  things  well,  and  should  have 
waited,  for  he  had  over  two  hundred  dollars, — must 
have  had, — for  you  and  Mr.  Holmes  were  not  the  only 
losers  here." 

"Who  were  the  others?"  she  quickly  asked. 

"Mr.  Hatton  and  Mr.  McLean." 

"  Mr.  McLean  !  Oh,  the  shame  of  it !"  Miss  For 
rest  paced  rapidly  up  and  down  the  parlor  floor,  her 
eyes  flashing,  her  cheeks  flushed,  her  hands  nervously 
twisting  the  filmy  handkerchief  she  carried.  Her  ex 
citement  was  something  utterly  foreign  to  her,  and 
neither  Miller  nor  his  wife  could  understand  it. 
Suddenly,  as  though  by  uncontrollable  impulse,  she 
stopped  before  and  faced  them. 

"  Major  Miller !"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  must  tell  you 
something.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  do  it  yester 
day.  It  will  not  add  to  my  faint  popularity  here,  but 
I  respect  you  and  Mrs.  Miller.  I  know  you  are  his 
friends,  and  I  want  your  advice.  How  am  I  to  make 
amends  to  Mr.  McLean?  What  am  I  to  say  to  him ? 
Do  you  know  that  for  a  few  days  of  idiocy  I  was 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  259 

made  to  believe  that  you  suspected  him  of  the  thefts  ? 
and  it  was  his  handkerchief  I  found  on  the  floor 
behind  my  trunk.  What  will  the  man  think  of 
me?  And  yet  I  must  tell  him.  I  cannot  sit  by  him 
day  after  day,  see  him,  speak  with  him,  and  have 
my  heart  hammering  out  the  words,  l  He  thinks 
you  are  his  friend,  and  you  thought  him  to  be  a 
thief.'" 

It  was  more  than  Miller  could  stand.  "  Miss  For 
rest  !  Miss  Forrest !"  he  exclaimed,  as  his  wife  sank 
into  an  easy-chair  and  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 
"  You  cover  me  with  shame  and  confusion.  Never  in 
my  life  have  I  heard  of  so  extraordinary  a  complica 
tion  as  this  has  been !  never  have  I  been  so  worried 
and  distressed !  My  dear  young  lady,  try  and  hear 
me  patiently.  You  have  been  far  more  sinned  against 
than  sinning.  A  few  hours  ago  Dr.  Bayard — he  who 
led  you  in  your  suspicions,  for  he  told  me  so — left 
here  crushed  and  humbled  to  find  that  he  had  been 
so  blind  and  unjust.  But  I  would  gladly  exchange 
places  with  him,  for  Fve  been  worse.  Fve  been  weak 
enough  to  be  made  to  look  with  other's  eyes  and  not 
my  own.  McLean  was  indeed  involved  in  grave  sus 
picion,  but  nothing  as  compared  with  that  which  sur 
rounded  another, — a  woman  who  was  entitled  to  our 
utmost  sympathy  and  protection  because  her  natural 
protector  was  in  the  field  far  from  her  side, — a  woman 


260  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

who  did  find  friends  and  protectors  in  my  young  offi 
cers, — McLean  and  Hattou, — God  bless  'em  for  it! 
for  they  stoutly  refused  to  tell  a  thing  until  it  was 
dragged  from  them  by  official  inquiry,  and  then  they 
had  burned  every  tangible  piece  of  evidence  against 
her.  She  was  at  Robinson  last  winter,  and  money 
and  valuables  were  constantly  disappearing.  Silken 
skirts  were  heard  trailing  in  dark  hall-ways  at 
night;  her  form  was  seen  in  the  room  of  the 
plundered  officers.  The  stories  followed  her  to 
Laramie.  The  night  McLean  and  Hatton  were 
robbed  her  silken  skirts  were  heard  trailing  up  the 
north  hall  of  Bedlam  and  her  feet  scurrying  over  the 
gallery.  Her  handkerchief  was  found  at  McLean's 
bureau,  and,  while  they  were  all  waiting  for  her  at 
Mrs.  Gordon's,  McLean  himself  collided  with  a  femi 
nine  shape  in  the  darkness  out  on  the  parade,  and  it 
slipped  away  without  a  word  as  though  fearing  detec 
tion.  The  night  of  the  robbery  at  Bayard's  she  was 
alone  up-stairs.  Another  night  she  was  seen  entering 
the  hall-way  without  ringing  the  bell  or  knocking  at 
the  door.  Another  evening  I,  who  was  in  the  Bay 
ards'  library,  listened  for  ten  minutes  to  some  one  who 
was  striving  to  pick  the  lock  and  make  a  secret  en 
trance  while  Elinor  was  confined  to  her  room  and  the 
doctor  was  known  to  be  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  at 
the  hospital.  At  last,  wearying  of  waiting  for  the 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  261 

thief  to  effect  an  entrance  and  permit  of  my  seeing 
him  or  her  in  the  hall,  I  sprang  out  upon  the  piazza 
and  found — you.  Then  that  night  I  strove  to  see 
Hatton  and  wring  from  him  his  knowledge  of  what 
had  been  going  on  in  Bedlam.  You  implored  him 
not  to  go.  You,  unwittingly,  made  him  and,  through 
him,  McLean  believe  it  was  your  own  trouble  you 
sought  to  conceal ;  and,  though  I  thank  God  I  ,was 
utterly  mistaken,  utterly  wrong  in  my  belief,  I  crave 
your  forgiveness,  Miss  Forrest.  It  was  I  who  urged 
that  your  brother  be  sent  here  at  once,  though  the 
general  believes  it  was  on  Mrs.  Forrest's  account,  that 
he  might  put  an  end  to  these  peculations  and  restore 
what  property  could  be  recovered  from  you, — you  who 
have  suffered  a  loss  far  greater  than  all  the  others  put 
together  and  never  said  a  word  about  it." 

And  poor  Miller,  who  had  never  made  so  long  a 
speech  in  his  life  before,  turned  chokingly  away. 
Then  Mrs.  Miller  spoke,  and  Miss  Forrest's  dilated 
eyes  were  turned  slowly  from  the  major's  bulky  shape 
to  the  matronly  form  upon  the  sofa  and  the  woe-be- 
gone  face  that  appeared  from  behind  the  handkerchief. 
Miss  Forrest's  cheeks  had  paled  and  her  lips  were 
parted.  She  had  seized  and  was  leaning  upon  the 
back  of  a  chair,  but  not  one  word  had  she  spoken. 
As  Mrs.  Miller's  voice  was  heard,  it  seemed  as  though 
a  slight  contraction  of  the  muscles  brought  about  a 


262  THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

decided    frown    upon   her   white    forehead,   but    she 
listened  in  utter  silence. 

"Indeed,  Miss  Forrest,  you  musn't  blame  the 
major  too  much.  He  wouldn't  have  listened  to  a 
word  against  you — if— if  it  hadn't  been  for  me.  I 
was  all  at  fault.  But  I  couldn't  have  believed  a 
word  against  you  had  it  not  been  for  those  letters 
from  Eobinson.  They — they " 

And  here  Mrs.  Miller  had  recourse  to  her  hand 
kerchief,  and  Miss  Forrest  stretched  forth  her  hand 
as  though  to  urge  her  say  no  more.  There  was  in 
tense  silence  in  the  parlor  a  moment.  Then  through 
the  open  windows  came  the  sudden  sound  of  a  scuffle, 
a  woman's  shriek,  a  sudden  fall,  voluble  curses  and 
ravings  in  Celestine's  familiar  tones,  and  the  rush  of 
many  feet  toward  Bedlam. 

Seizing  his  cap  and  hurrying  thither,  the  major 
pushed  his  way  through  an  excited  group  on  the 
lower  gallery.  The  sergeant  of  the  guard,  lantern 
in  hand,  was  wonderingly  contemplating  the  Scotch 
"  striker"  Lachlan,  who  firmly  clung  to  the  wrist  of 
the  struggling,  swearing  girl,  despite  her  adjurations 
to  let  her  go.  Other  men  from  the  quarters  were 
clustered  around  them,  hardly  knowing  what  to  say, 
for  Lachlan  contented  himself  with  the  single  word 
"thief!"  and  never  relaxed  his  grasp  until  the  major 
bade  him  do  so,  but  instantly  renewed  it  as  his  pris- 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  263 

oner  attempted  to  spring  away.  McLean  came  limp 
ing  to  the  scene  from  the  direction  of  the  doctor's 
quarters  just  as  Miss  Forrest,  too,  appeared,  and  him 
Lachlan  addressed: 

"  I  found  her  rummaging  in  the  bureau,  sir." 

And  then  Miss  Forrest's  quiet  voice  was  heard  as 
soon  as  the  major's  orders  to  bring  a  gag  had  silenced 
the  loud  protestations  and  accusations  of  the  negress. 

"It  is  as  we  supposed,  major.  That  is  the  skirt 
of  an  old  silk  I  gave  her  last  winter." 

An  hour  later  Celestine  was  locked  in  a  room  at 
the  laundress's  quarters,  where  stout  "Mrs.  Sergeant 
Flynn"  organized  an  Amazon  guard  of  heroines, 
who,  like  herself,  had  followed  the  drum  for  many 
a  year;  who  assured  the  major  the  prisoner  would 
never  escape  from  their  clutches,  and  whose  motto 
appeared  to  be,  "  Put  none  but  Irishwomen  on  guard 
to-night." 


XX. 

CONFESSIONS,  of  various  sorts,  were  the  order  of 
the  day  at  Laramie  during  the  week  that  followed 
this  important  arrest,  and  then  the  fortnight  of  ac 
cusation  was  at  an  end.  Parsons,  the  deserter,  led 
off  the  day  after  his  return  to  the  post  under  escort 
of  the  little  squad  sent  down  from  Terry's  troop  to 
meet  him  at  Cheyenne.  He  was  stubborn  and  silent 
at  first,  but  when  told  by  the  corporal  of  the  guard 
that  Celestine  had  "gone  back  on  him  the  moment 
she  heard  he  had  a  wife  at  Denver,  and  had  more 
than  given  him  away,"  he  concluded  that  it  was  time 
to  deny  some  of  the  accusations  heaped  upon  his 
head  by  the  furious  victim  of  his  wiles.  The  girl 
had  indeed  obeyed  his  beck  and  will,  and  shielded 
him  even  in  the  days  of  suspense  that  followed  his 
desertion  ;  but  no  word  can  describe  the  rage  of  her 
jealousy,  the  fury  of  her  hate,  the  recklessness  of 
her  tongue  when  she  found  that  he  had  used  her  only 
as  a  tool  to  enrich  another  woman, — his  lawful  wife. 
Parsons  told  his  story  to  an  interested  audience  as 
though  he  had  rather  enjoyed  the  celebrity  he  had 
acquired,  and  Major  Miller,  Dr.  Bayard,  Captain 
Forrest,  and  Mr.  Roswell  Holmes  were  his  most 
264 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  265 

attentive  listeners.  He  had  been  a  corporal  in  the 
Marine  Corps  at  the  Washington  Navy- Yard,  and 
had  seen  Dr.  Bayard  many  a  time.  Reduced  to  the 
ranks  for  some  offence,  he  had  become  an  officer's 
servant,  and  was  employed  at  the  mess-room,  where 
Bayard  must  have  seen  him  frequently,  as  the  doctor 
rarely  missed  their  festivities  at  the  barracks.  Here 
his  peculations  began  and  were  discovered.  He  de 
serted  and  got  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  began  to  "  bar 
ber"  on  a  boat;  got  married  and  into  more  trouble; 
fled  to  Denver  and  found  people's  wits  too  sharp  for 
him ;  so,  leaving  his  wife  to  support  herself  as  best 
she  could,  he  ran  up  to  Cheyenne  and  enlisted  in  the 
cavalry.  Doors  and  windows,  desks  and  trunks,  were 
found  lying  open  everywhere  at  Robinson ;  Celestine 
was  speedily  induced  to  learn  the  business,  and  proved 
an  adept.  He  warned  her  she  would  be  suspected,  but 
she  laughed  and  said  she  knew  how  to  hoodwink 
folks.  They  kept  up  their  partnership  at  Laramie, 
he  receiving  and  hiding  the  valuables  she  brought 
him ;  but  he  was  sure  the  doctor  had  recognized 
him ;  he  knew  there  was  danger,  and  he  was  deter 
mined  to  slip  away  the  first  chance  that  came,  espe 
cially  after  securing  the  diamonds.  The  Fetterman 
despatch  gave  him  the  longed-for  opportunity.  Celes 
tine  was  quieted  by  the  promise  that,  as  soon  as  the 
thing  had  blown  over  and  he  was  safe,  he  would 

M  23 


266  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

get  word  to  her  where  to  join  him,  send  her  plenty 
of  money,  and  then  they  would  be  married  and  live 
happily  ever  after.  On  the  way  back  from  Fetter- 
man  he  stopped  at  an  abandoned  hut  near  Bull 
Bend,  where  he  had  hidden  his  plunder  on  the  way 
up,  stowed  the  money  and  jewels  in  his  saddle-bags, 
then  pushed  for  Hunton's  on  the  Chug;  got  safely 
by  in  the  night,  rode  his  horse  hard  to  Lodge  Pole 
Creek,  where  he  left  him  at  a  ranch  and  secured  the 
loan  of  another.  Then  keeping  well  to  the  west  of 
Fort  Russell  and  never  going  near  Cheyenne,  he 
crossed  the  Union  Pacific  and  made  his  way  to 
Denver.  But  there,  to  his  dismay,  the  "Rocky 
Mountain"  detective  officials  were  on  the  watch  for 
him,  and  every  precaution  had  been  vain.  He  was 
captured ;  Miss  Forrest's  diamonds,  Mr.  Holmes's 
amethysts,  and  Mr.  Hatton's  pins  were  found  secreted 
in  his  possession,  though  most  of  the  money  was 
gone, — gambling, — and  that  was  all.  He  never  knew 
that  Mr.  Holmes  had  tracked  him  all  the  way  and 
rolled  up  a  volume  of  evidence  against  him. 

Celestine,  tiger-cat  that  she  was,  had  at  first  filled 
the  air  with  shrieks  of  rage  and  loud  accusations,  first 
against  Lachlan  and  then  Miss  Forrest,  but  the  Irish 
laundresses  only  jeered  at  her ;  and,  when  the  deserter 
was  fairly  back  in  the  garrison  and  the  circumstances 
of  his  capture  were  made  known,  taunted  her  with 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  267 

having  been  victimized  by  a  man  who  had  a  wife  to 
share  the  profits  of  her  plundering.  Once  made  to 
realize  that  this  was  truth,  she  no  longer  sought  to 
conceal  anything.  She  seemed  bent  only  on  heaping 
up  vengeance  upon  him.  'Twas  he  who  corrupted 
her ;  he  who  taught  her  to  steal ;  he  who  showed  her 
how  to  pick  locks ;  he  who  told  her  to  wear  Miss  For 
rest's  silk  skirts  and  steal  her  handkerchiefs  and  leave 
them  where  they  would  be  found ;  he  who  let  her  in  to 
the  doctor's  the  night  of  the  dinner  and  stole  the  porte- 
monnaie  from  the  fur  coat  while  she  went  up-stairs  and 
took  the  amethysts  from  Mr.  Holmes's  room.  She 
wasn't  afraid.  If  any  one  came  all  she  had  to  do  was 
to  say  she  had  returned  for  something  she  had  lost 
when  accompanying  Miss  Forrest.  'Twas  he  who  told 
her  to  take  some  of  McLean's  handkerchiefs  and  drop 
one  in  Mr.  Holmes's  room  where  he  would  be  sure  to 
get  it,  "'cause  Dr.  Bayard  wanted  to  get  rid  of  Mr. 
McLean  and  would  believe  nothing  against  Miss  For 
rest  ;"  'twas  he  who  tried  to  pick  that  latch  again  and 
get  in  and  steal  the  doctor's  silver,  but  was  interrupted 
by  Miss  Forrest's  coming,  and  had  just  time  to  slink 
away  on  tiptoe  around  the  corner  of  the  house ;  'twas 
he  who  gave  her  keys  to  open  Miss  Forrest's  trunk 
and  showed  her  how  to  pick  the  lock  of  the  little  box 
that  held  her  diamonds,  and  he  who  bade  her  lose  one 
of  McLean's  handkerchiefs  behind  the  trunk.  Oh, 


268  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

yes !  She  was  ready  to  swear  fire,  murder,  and  treason 
against  him — her  scoundrelly  deceiver.  In  one  short 
day  this  precious  pair  had  succeeded  in  saddling  each 
other  with  the  iniquities  of  the  garrison  for  a  month 
back,  and  all  other  suspicions  were  at  an  end. 

But  there  was  still  another  feather  in  Mr.  Holmes's 
cap.  He  had  known  these  Denver  detectives  for  years 
and  had  placed  much  valuable  business  in  their  hands. 
He  had  munificently  rewarded  every  man  who  had 
been  efficient  in  the  present  chase  and  capture;  had 
had  the  pleasure  of  restoring  to  Miss  Forrest  in  a  new 
case  and  well-repaired  setting  the  diamonds  of  which 
she  had  been  despoiled,  and  then  he  sought  McLean. 

"  Did  you  ever  get  a  little  card  I  left  in  your  drawer 
one  night  while  I  was  here  with  Mr.  Hatton?"  he 
asked. 

McLean  looked  up  in  eager  interest.  "  A  card  ? — 
yes,  but  never  dreamed  it  was  from  you.  Indeed  I 
thought — I  was  told — it  came  from  an  entirely  different 
source,  and  it  has  puzzled  me  more  than  words  can  tell 
you." 

"  It  was  perhaps  a  piece  of  officiousness  on  my 
part,  but  we  were  in  a  peculiar  state  just  then  with 
all  these  thefts  going  on.  I  stowed  it  in  one  of  your 
handkerchiefs  while  Hatton  was  out.  What  did  you 
do  with  it !" 

"Burned  it — long  ago.     I   couldn't  understand  at 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  269 

all.     It  said  that  one  who  had  been  as  hard  pressed 
as  I  was — pecuniarily,  I  supposed — wanted  to  be  my 

friend,  and " 

"  Yes,  that's  about  it !     I  suppose  you  couldn't  see 

your  way  clear  to  accepting  help  from  me " 

"  I  didn't  know  it  was  your  card  or  your  writing. 
No  initials  appeared.  The  card  was  otherwise  blank, 
and  Hatton  and  I — well — there's  no  sense  in  telling 
the  absurdity  of  our  beliefs  at  that  time.  We  were 
all  at  sea." 

"Let  all  that  pass,"  said  Holmes,  with  a  grave 
smile  on  his  face.  "The  man  that  hasn't  been  a  fool 
in  one  way  or  another  in  this  garrison  during  the  last 
month  or  so  is  not  on  my  list  of  acquaintances,  and  I 
think  I  know  myself.  What  I  want  now  is  a  descrip 
tion  of  Sergeant  Marsland.  One  of  my  Denver  friends 
thinks  he  has  spotted  him  as  a  swell  gambler  down  at 
El  Paso." 

And  so,  that  night,  a  full  pen-picture  of  the  la 
mented  commissary-sergeant  was  wired  to  Denver. 
Two  days  later  a  special  detective  was  speeding  south 
ward;  and  though  Roswell  Holmes  had  left  Fort 
Laramie  and  gone  about  his  other  affairs  long  before 
the  result  was  known,  and  long  before  the  slow- 
moving  wheels  of  Wyoming  and  military  justice  had 
rolled  the  two  later  culprits  before  the  courts,  it  was 
his  name  that  came  up  for  renewed  applause  and  en- 

23* 


270  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

thusiastic  praise  when  the  telegraph  brought  to  the 
commanding  officer  the  news  that  a  "  rich  haul !"  had 
been  made  on  the  far-away  Texan  frontier.  Mars- 
land  and  over  one  thousand  dollars  had  been  gathered 
in  at  aone  fell  swoop." 

Then  came  July,  its  blazing  sunshine  tempered  by 
the  snow-cooled  breezes  from  the  mountain-peaks,  and 
its  starry  nights  made  drowsy  and  soothing  by  the 
softer  melody  of  the  swift-rushing  Laramie.  The 
roar  and  fury  of  the  May  torrents  were  gone  and  with 
them  the  clouds  and  storms  of  human  jealousies  and 
suspicions.  The  crowded  garrison  had  undergone  a 
valuable  experience.  The  social  circle  of  the  post 
had  learned  a  lesson  as  to  the  fallibility  of  feminine 
and  masculine — judgment.  Bruce  was  slyly  ridiculing 
Miller  because  of  his  surrender  to  the  views  and  theo 
ries  of  his  better  half,  and,  even  while  resenting 
verbally  the  fact  that  he  had  been  excluded  from  all 
participation  in  the  momentous  affairs  of  the  early 
summer,  was  known  to  be  devoutly  thankful  in  his 
innermost  heart  that  he  had  not  been  drawn  into  the 
snarl.  Bruce  was  hand  in  glove  with  Captain  For 
rest  now,  who,  having  set  his  house  in  order  and 
silenced  the  querulous  complaints  of  liis  wife  at  the 
loss  of  Celestine,  was  eager  to  get  back  to  his  troop. 
Between  Forrest  and  McLean,  too,  there  had  sprung 
up  a  feeling  of  cordial  friendship.  Forrest  had  heard 


THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  271 

from  his  sister's  lips  the  story  of  how  he  and  Hatton 
had  burned  her  handkerchief  and  striven  in  every 
way  to  shield  her  in  his  absence,  and  the  cavalryman's 
heart  warmed  to  them  more  than  he  could  express. 
To  Miller  and  McLean  he  told  the  story  of  his  sister's 
differences  with  her  uncle,  pretty  much  in  effect  as 
Mrs.  Forrest  told  the  doctor.  It  was  Courtlandt's  son 
she  would  not  marry  because  of  his  repeated  lapses 
into  inebriety,  and  Courtlandt's  bounty  she  would  no 
longer  accept  since  she  could  not  take  the  son.  The 
registered  letters  she  had  mailed  contained  the  remit 
tances  the  sorrowful  old  man  persisted  in  sending  her 
and  she  persisted  in  returning.  Dr.  Bayard,  too,  had 
shown  vast  cordiality  to  the  stalwart  cavalry  brother, 
but  Forrest  seemed  to  share  his  sister's  views,  and  only 
moderately  responded. 

Poor  Bayard !  Again  and  again  did  he  curse  the 
cruel  fates  that  had  exiled  him  to  this  outlying,  bar 
barous,  incomprehensible  community.  Again  and 
again  did  he  bemoan  the  blunders  he  had  made.  In 
the  gclaircissement  that  followed  the  arrest  of  Celestine 
and  Parsons  he  had  striven  to  pose  as  the  champion  of 
Miss  Forrest  and  to  redouble  his  devotions.  There 
was  no  doubt  of  his  devotion  :  the  grandiose  old  beau 
was  completely  fascinated  by  the  brilliancy,  daring, 
and  self-control  of  that  indomitable  Queen  of  Bedlam. 
After  the  first  shock  and  a  few  hours  of  solitude,  in 


272  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

which  she  refused  to  see  or  talk  with  anybody,  Miss 
Forrest  had  emerged  from  her  room  in  readiness  to 
welcome  her  brother  on'  his  arrival,  and  no  one  in  all 
that  garrison  could  detect  the  faintest  sign  of  resent 
ment  or  discomposure  in  her  manner.  If  anything, 
she  was  rather  more  approachable  to  people  she  could 
not  fancy  than  at  any  time  before,  and,  now  that  the 
Bruces  and  Gordons  and  Johnsons  and  everybody 
seemed  in  mad  competition  to  see  who  could  be  most 
cordial  and  friendly  with  her,  it  speedily  became  ap 
parent  that  it  was  their  offishness,  not  hers,  that  had 
kept  them  asunder  earlier  in  her  visit.  Mrs.  Post  had 
found  her  out,  she  proudly  asserted,  just  as  soon  as  she 
came  to  live  under  the  same  roof  with  her,  and  it  was 
now  her  privilege  to  claim  precedence  over  the  others 
of  the  large  sisterhood.  But  all  this  sudden  popu 
larity  of  the  young  lady  in  question  was  no  great  com 
fort  to  Bayard,  who  found  it  almost  impossible  to  see 
her  alone.  She  would  gladly  have  gone  to  spend 
hours  with  Elinor,  who  was  still  far  from  strong,  for 
"her  Majesty,"  as  she  was  often  playfully  referred 
to,  was  disposed  to  be  very  fond  of  that  sweet-faced 
child ;  but  Elinor  seemed  to  shrink  from  her  a  little. 
She  feared  that  her  father  had  really  fallen  deeply  in 
love  again,  and  if  so  who  could  resist  him  ?  She  ad 
mired  Miss  Forrest  and  could  be  very  fond  of  her, 
but  not  as  a  second  mother.  Another  matter  that 


THE   qUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  273 

stood  in  the  way  of  going  thither  was  the  fact  that 
Bayard  seemed  to  track  her  everywhere,  and  the  situa 
tion  was  becoming  unendurable.  One  night,  at  last, 
he  dropped  in  at  the  Millers'  when  she  was  there,  and 
promptly,  when  she  retired,  offered  to  escort  her  home. 
She  thanked  him,  took  his  arm,  walked  slowly  with 
him  to  the  south  hall  of  Bedlam,  and  there  bid  him 
adieu.  No  one  knows  just  what  was  talked  of  on 
that  eventful  walk,  but  it  was  the  last  he  ever  sought 
with  her,  and  for  weeks  Bayard  was  a  moody,  miser 
able  man.  All  Laramie  swore  he  had  proposed  and 
had  been  rejected,  but  no  one  could  positively  tell. 

Elinor  redoubled  her  loving  ways  from  that  time, 
and  strove  to  cheer  and  gladden  him,  but  he  was 
almost  repellent.  There  was  only  one  thing,  he  de 
clared  to  her,  that  made  him  wretched,  and  that  was 
her  attachment  to  Mr.  McLean.  If  she  would  only 
be  sensible,  and  see  how  absurd  that  was,  he  could 
smile  again,  but  that  was  a  matter  in  which  his  little 
girl  had  decided  as  her  mother  had  decided  before  her. 
Poor  Bayard  !  To  revenge  himself  on  his  father-  and 
mother-in-law  he  had  wrested  this  sweet  child  from 
their  arms  and  brought  her  hither,  only  to  see  her 
won  away  in  turn,  and,  by  all  that  was  horrible,  by 
an  army  lieutenant.  He  had  to  admit  that  McLean 
was  a  gentleman,  a  splendid  officer,  without  a  vice  or 
a  meanness,  and,  now  that  the  stolen  stores  were  re- 


274  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

placed  by  their  money  value,  without  a  debt  in  the 
world ;  but  he  was  poor, — he  was  nothing,  in  fact,  but 
what  he  himself  had  been  when  he  won  Elinor's 
mother.  McLean  had  spoken  to  him  manfully  and 
asked  his  consent,  but  he  rebuffed  him,  saying  she  was 
a  mere  child.  McLean  declared  he  would  wait  any 
reasonable  time,  but  claimed  the  privilege  of  visiting 
her  as  a  suitor,  and  this  he  would  have  refused,  and 
for  a  few  days  did  refuse,  until  her  pallor  and  tearful 
eyes  so  upbraided  him  that  he  gave  up  in  despair. 
Meantime  she  had  poured  out  her  heart  to  the  loving 
grandparents  at  home,  and  they  took  her  part,  and, 
almost  to  her  surprise,  actually  welcomed  the  news 
that  she  had  a  lover.  The  judge  wrote  to  Bayard  (the 
first  time  he  had  so  honored  him  since  their  difference 
the  previous  winter),  saying  he  knew  "  the  stock"  well 
and  expressing  his  hearty  approval  of  Nellie's  choice. 
As  to  her  future,  he  said,  that  was  his  business.  It 
made  no  difference  to  him  whether  Mr.  McLean 
was  rich  or  poor.  That  matter  was  one  he  could 
settle  to  suit  himself.  It  was  a  comfort  to  know  she 
"  had  given  her  heart  to  a  steadfast,  loyal,  and  honest 
man."  And  so,  having  stirred  up  his  son-in-law 
and  made  him  wince  to  his  heart's  content,  the  old 
statesman  bade  him  stand  no  longer  in  the  way,  but 
tell  the  young  gentleman  that  he,  too,  would  be  glad 
to  know  him;  and  this  letter,  that  evening,  "old 


THE  QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM.  275 

Chesterfield"  placed  in  his  daughter's  hand  and  then 
magnanimously  gave  her  his  blessing.  It  was  not  to 
be  shown  to  McLean,  said  the  doctor,  but  he  did  not 
tell  her  why.  He  was  afraid  the  young  fellow  would 
read  between  the  lines  and  see  what  the  judge  was 
driving  at  when  he  spoke  of  the  loyalty  and  honesty 
of  Nellie's  lover. 

Heavens!  What  billing  and  cooing  there  was  at 
Laramie  all  that  late  summer  and  autumn !  How 
Jeannie  Bruce  blushed  and  bloomed  when  the  ambu 
lance  finally  landed  Mr.  Hatton  at  her  side,  and  he 
took  his  limping  but  blissful  daily  walk  in  her 
society!  How  Nellie  Bayard's  soft  cheeks  grew 
rounder  and  rosier  as  the  autumn  wore  away,  and 
how  her  sweet  eyes  softened  and  glowed  as  they  gazed 
up  into  the  manly  face  of  the  young  soldier  whom 
she  was  just  beginning  to  learn  (very  shyly  and  hesi 
tatingly  yet,  and  only  when  none  but  he  could  hear) 
to  call  "  Randall."  Rapturous  confidences  were  those 
in  which  she  and  Jeannie  Bruce  daily  engaged. 
Blissful  were  the  glances  with  which  they  rewarded 
Miss  Forrest  for  her  warm  and  cordial  congratula 
tions.  Delightful  were  the  hours  they  presently 
began  to  spend  with  her;  and  dismal,  dismal  was 
the  old  frontier  post  when  October  came  and  those 
three  young  women  with  appropriate  escort  were 
spirited  away  together:  Elinor  to  spend  the  winter 


276  THE   QUEEN  OF  BEDLAM. 

with  her  grandparents  and  make  who  knows  what 
elaborate  preparations  for  the  military  wedding  which 
was  to  come  off  in  the  following  May;  Jeannie  Bruce 
to  pay  her  a  long  visit  and  indulge  in  similar,  though 
far  less  lavish,  shopping  on  her  own  account;  and 
Miss  Forrest  to  return  to  the  roof  of  old  Mr.  Court- 
landt,  who  begged  it  as  a  solace  to  his  declining  years 
and  fast-failing  health.  The  doctor,  McLean,  and 
Hatton  went  with  the  party  as  far  as  Cheyenne  and 
saw  them,  with  their  friends  Major  and  Mrs.  Stan- 
nard,  of  the  cavalry,  safely  aboard  the  train  for 
Omaha,  and  then  with  solemn  visages  returned  to 
the  desolation  of  their  post  to  worry  through  the 
winter  as  best  they  could.  Telegrams  from  Omaha 
and  Chicago  told  of  the  safe  and  happy  flight  of  the 
eastward  travellers,  and  soon  the  letters  began  to 
come.  "  What  do  you  think  ?"  wrote  both  the 
younger  girls,  "  who  do  you  suppose  was  at  Chicago 
to  meet  us  but  Mr.  Holmes?" 

"  All's  well  that  ends  well !"  quoth  Mr.  Hatton, 
one  evening  soon  after,  as  he  blew  a  cloud  of  "  Lyuch- 
burg  sun-cured"  tobacco-smoke  across  the  top  of  the 
old  Argand  and  tossed  McLean  a  Cheyenne  paper. 
"  Celestine  has  gone  to  the  penitentiary,  and  here's 
the  sentence  of  the  court  in  the  case  of  Marsland  and 
Parsons, — five  years  apiece."  "  All's  well  that  ends 
well !"  for  those  were  glad  and  hopeful  and  happy 


THE   qUEENOF  BEDLAM.  277 

hearts,  as  the  long,  long  winter  wore  away  and 
another  May-day  came  around;  and  the  sunshine 
danced  on  the  snow  crests  of  the  grand  old  peak; 
and  the  foaming  Laramie  again  tossed  high  its  brawl 
ing  surges ;  and  the  south  wind  swept  away  the  few 
remaining  drifts,  searching  them  out  in  the  depths 
of  the  bare  ravines  and  bringing  to  light -tender  little 
tufts  of  green — the  baby  buffalo-grass  :  and  one  day 
there  came  a  wild  surprise,  and  the  ladies  swarmed  to 
Mrs.  Miller's  for  confirmation  of  the  news  that  went 
from  lip  to  lip, — the  news  that  "her  Majesty"  had 
indeed  at  last  surrendered,  and  that  Roswell  Holmes 
had  wooed  and  won  "The  Queen  of  Bedlam." 


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ENTERTAINING    STORIES. 

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ON    BOTH   SIDES. 

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"  No  such  faithful,  candid,  kindly,  brilliant,  and  incisive  presentation 
of  English  and  American  types  has  before  been  achieved.  The  wit  of 
the  story  is  considerable.  It  is  written  brilliantly,  yet  not  flimsily.  It  is 
the  best  international  novel  that  either  side  has  hitherto  produced.  It  is 
written  by  an  American  woman  who  really  knows  both  countries,  and 
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BEHIND  THE   BLUE   RIDGE 

A    HOMELY    NARRATIVE. 


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"Intensely  dramatic  in  construction,  rich  in  color,  picturesque  in  de 
scription,  and  artistic  in  its  setting."— Philadelphia  Record. 

"It  is  lightened  through  and  through  by  humor  as  subtle  and  spon 
taneous  as  any  that  ever  brightened  the  dark  pages  of  life  history,  and  is 
warmed  by  tbat  keen  sympathy  and  love  for  human  nature  which  trans 
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A  SHOCKING   EXAMPLE, 

AND    OTHER    SKETCHES. 


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color;  so  bubbling  over  with  humor,  and  so  full  of  delicate  etchings  of 
pleasant  life  as  those  told  by  Miss  Baylor.  The  present  book  embraces 
no  less  than  fifteen  complete  sketches  which  are  characterized  by  the 
same  brilliancy  of  style  that  has  won  for  the  author's  previous  works  the 
highest  encomiums  of  the  press  and  her  large  number  of  readers. 


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American  Novels.  No.  1. 

THE  DESERTER  AND  FROM  THE  RANKS. 

By  CAPTAIN  CHARLES  KING, 
Author  of  "  The  Colonel's  Daughter,"  "  Marion's  Faith,"  etc. 

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"Captain  King  is  one  of  the  best  of  modern  writers  of  military  fiction, 
worthy  to  rank  on  this  side  the  water  with  John  Strange  Winter  on  the  other. 
His  pictures  of  army  life  impress  one  by  their  manifest  sincerity,  their  dramatic 
interest,  and  their  wholesome  and  manly  motives.  These  two  stories  have  a 
tone  and  an  atmosphere  wholly  different  from  the  commonplace  novel  of  the 
day,  and  for  that  reason  alone  they  are  highly  enjoyable." — Boston  Literary 
World. 

"  The  gallant  captain  has  all  a  soldier's  generous  enthusiasm  for  lovely  woman 
and  the  delights  of  a  cosy,  love-lit  home,  and  his  heroines  are  all  sweet,  whole 
some  women  that  do  honor  to  his  heart  and  pen.  These  two  stories  are  bright 
and  interesting,  and  we  heartily  recommend  them  to  public  favor." — German- 
town  Telegraph. 

"  Captain  King  surpasses  any  other  writer  of  army  life  that  we  have  yet  had, 
and  his  sketches  of  society  life  and  character  at  the  military  stations  in  the  far 
West  are  as  brilliant  as  they  are  entertaining.  The  plots  of  both  these  stories 
are  ingeniously  conceived  and  skilfully  carried  out,  and  they  are  replete  with 
stirring  and  exciting  incidents." — Boston  Home  Journal. 

"  The  author  has  had  the  good  sense  to  select  a  department  of  fiction  which 
he  is  excellently  fitted  to  describe.  There  is  just  enough  of  wholesome  plot  in 
'  The  Deserter'  and  '  From  the  Ranks'  to  keep  the  reader's  interest  unabated  to 
the  end.  The  tone  of  the  work  is  fresh  and  charming.  Captain  King  has  a 
quick  and  sentient  touch,  and  his  writing  is  that  of  one  whose  belief  in  mankind 
is  untouched  by  bitterness.  One  reads  his  tales  with  the  satisfying  sense  of  a 
cheerful  solution  of  all  difficulties  on  the  final  page.  It  is  a  relief,  indeed,  to 
turn  from  the  dismal  introspection  of  much  of  our  modern  fiction  to  the  fresh 
naturalness  of  such  stories  as  these." — New  York  Critic. 

"  The  author  of  '  The  Colonel's  Daughter'  has  studied  the  intrigues,  jeal 
ousies,  and  romances  of  army  life  on  the  spot,  and  draws  life-like  portraits  of 
favorite  officers  and  men,  of  overbearing  captains'  wives  and  sisters,  and 
describes  the  monotonous  camp-life  and  its  sudden  dangers  truthfully/' — New 
York  Publishers'  Weekly. 

"  He  tells  his  stories  with  so  much  spirit  that  one's  interest  is  maintained  to 
the  end.  The  character-studies  are  good  and  the  plot  cleverly  developed." — > 
New  York  Book-Buyer. 

"  The  characters  are  all  truly  soldierly  men,  of  no  low  rank  in  the  American 
army.  There  is  plenty  of  intrigue  in  the  plot  to  show  that  there  is  more  than 
one  kind  of  an  explosive  in  a  camp.  The  society,  life,  and  amusements  of  this 
certain  class  of  people  are  very  clearly  brought  to  light,  and  if  it  were  not  for 
the  positive  fact  that  they  exist  only  in  fiction,  one  could  easily  imagine  that 
they  were  real  persons,  so  natural  and  real  do  their  actions  seem.  The  reader 
can  gain  several  new  ideas  in  regard  to  the  pleasures  of  those  in  the  army  as 
well  as  an  idea  of  some  of  the  dangers  that  constantly  threaten  the  officers, 
from  Captain  King's  full  description  of  them." — Boston  Herald. 

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American  Novels,  No.  2. 

BRUETON'S    BkYOU, 

By  JOHN  HABBERTON,  author  of  "  Helen's  Babies," 


AND 


By  FRANCES  HODGSON  BURNETT,  author  of  "  That  Lass  o'  Lowriei." 

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"A  good  book  to  put  in  the  satchel  for  a  railway  trip  or  ocean  voyage."  — 
Chicago  Current. 

"  In  every  way  worthy  of  the  best  of  our  American  story  -writers."  —  Wash 
ington  Public  Opinion. 

"  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  two  more  charming  stories  were  ever  bound  in  one 
cover  than  these."  —  New  Orleans  Picayune. 

"  Two  thoroughly  good  and  entertaining  American  novels.  The  literary 
character  of  the  authors  will  attract  every  cultivated  reader."  —  Boston  Globe. 

"  We  are  glad  to  have  '  Brueton's  Bayou'  in  our  hands  again,  —  to  recall  its 
charming  picture  of  Southern  life,  with  the  genuine  naturalness  of  that  simple 
household  and  the  subtle  differences  in  the  social  virtues  and  exactions  of  two 
extremes  of  civilization.  Everything  about  the  story  is  charming,  from  the 
sweet  dignity  of  the  impulsive  Velce  and  the  instinctive  cleverness  of  her  old 
darkey  protector,  to  the  gentle  irony  which  occasionally  displays  itself  in  the 
description  of  the  men  of  the  plantation.  In  '  Miss  Defarge'  Mrs.  Burnett  has 
given  us  a  good  deal  of  action  and  that  vigorous  handling  which  has  become 
characteristic  of  her  late  style."  —  New  York  Critic. 

"  Two  more  delightful  stories  than  these  it  were  hard  to  find.  The  reputa 
tion  of  Mr.  Habberton  and  Mrs.  Burnett  are  guarantee  that  there  isn't  a  dull 
line  in  either  of  these  works.  They  will  be  welcomed  heartily,  and  read  again 
and  again."  —  Nashville  American. 

"  Two  pleasing  stories.  Mrs.  Burnett's  stories  are  always  bright  and  inter 
esting,  and  '  Brueton's  Bayou'  is  readable  from  cover  to  cover."  —  Baltimore 
American. 

"  '  Brueton's  Bayou'  is  an  excellent  tale,  the  motive  of  which  is  apparently 
to  instil  into  the  haughty  insularity  of  the  New  York  mind  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  intellectual  possibilities  of  the  Southwest.  The  smug  and  self-satisfied 
young  New  York  business-man,  who  is  detained  by  the  lameness  of  his  horse 
at  Brueton's  Bayou,  and  there  presently  meets  his  fate  in  the  form  of  a  brilliant 
and  beautiful  girl  of  the  region,  has  the  nonsense  taken  out  of  him  very 
thoroughly  by  his  Southern  experiences.  '  Miss  Defarge'  is  a  strong  study  of  a 
very  resolute  and  self-centred  young  woman,  who  accomplishes  many  things 
by  sheer  force  of  will.  But  the  most  interesting  and  charming  figure  in  it  is 
that  of  Elizabeth  Dysart,  the  blonde  beauty,  a  kind  of  modernized  Dudu,— 
'large  and  languishing  and  lazy,'  —  but  of  a  sweetness  of  temper  and  general 
lovableness  not  to  be  surpassed."  —  New  York  Tribune. 

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American  Novels,  No.  3. 

SINFIRE, 

By  JULIAN  HAWTHORNE,  author  of  "Archibald  Malmaison,"  etc. 

AND 

DOUGLAS  DUANE, 

By  EDGAR  FAWCETT,  author  of  "A  Gentleman  of  Leisure,"  etc. 

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"  The  style  is  unique,  the  incident  thrilling,  and  a  weird  and 
fantastic  thread  runs  through  both  the  stories." — Norristown 
Herald. 

"  They  are  tales  of  the  most  marvellous  nature,  but  with  enough 
of  the  possible,  every-day  life  interwoven  so  skilfully  that  the  in 
terest  is  kept  up  throughout." — Portland  Transcript. 

"  Both  are  curious,  picturesque  stories,  well  worked  out,  and 
among  the  author's  most  popular  efforts." — New  York  Graphic. 

"  Two  novels  that  have  been  well  received  and  that  are  very 
warmly  praised." — Boston  Transcript. 

"  These  are  novels  by  two  of  the  most  popular  writers  of  the 
day.  Each  is  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  deep  interest  peculiar 
to  its  author." — Boston  Home  Journal. 

"  Both  of  the  stories  are  well  worth  perusal." — Kansas  City 
Times. 

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Picked  Up  in  the  Streets, 

FROM   THE  GERMAN   OF  H.  SCHOBERT. 
Translated   toy    Mrs.    A.    I*.   WISXBR. 


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"  An  entertaining,  romantic  story,  with  a  healthy  moral.  The  pathos 
is  genuine,  and  those  who  figure  in  it  are  unexaggerated  types  of 
human  nature.  It  may  be  read  with  profit  and  pleasure  by  old  and 
young." — Boston  Gazette. 

"  It  is  a  romance  of  more  than  usual  interest.  Like  so  many 
novels  of  the  epoch,  it  is  Russian  in  motive,  but  the  scenes  are  laid 
in  France  and  Germany.  The  characters  in  the  story  are  so  high- 
spirited  and  intensely  aristocratic  in  their  way  that  loves  and  hates, 
plots  and  counterplots,  and,  above  all,  the  duel,  will  be  deliciously 
pleasing  to  simple  republicans.  But  the  story  has  even  a  greater 
merit  than  its  interest — it  is  not  too  long." — Philadelphia  Times. 

"You  read  on;  things  become  interesting;  the  'plot  thickens, 
new  elements  are  drawn  into  it;  new  contingencies — new  impossi 
bilities — emerge,  to  be  resolved  after  much  bitterness  into  sweet 
harmonies  and  things  altogether  possible.  Two  or  three  strong 
characters  stand  aloof  and  aloft,  and  show  that  Herr  Schobert 
has  a  sharp  power  of  analysis  and  characterization,  and  that  his  Ger 
mans  and  Russians  are  not  walking  and  talking  puppets.  The  court 
life  at  a  petty  German  principality  is  admirably  depicted ;  not  less  so 
the  courtiers  and  princelings,  and  the  strong,  luminous  figure  of  the 
heroine.  Mrs.  Wister  translates  with  delightful  ease,  and  brings  all 
these  things  before  us  as  if  she  were  composing  originally,  and  not 
translating." — N.  Y.  Critic. 

"  As  a  romancer  H.  Schobert  expresses  himself  with  delicacy. 
His  ideas  of  life  are  not  overwrought,  although  at  times  they  assume 
a  highly  sensational  character.  The  interest  of  his  story  centres  in 
his  picturesque  and  realistic  views  of  society  life  at  the  German 
court,  where  the  prominent  scenes  are  mostly  laid.  He  has  the 
power  to  shift  from  one  scene  to  another  without  disturbing  the  har 
mony  of  the  whole,  and,  with  Mrs.  Wister  as  a  translator,  his  work 
cannot  fail  to  find  favor." — Boston  Herald. 

"  Like  all  of  Mrs.  Wister's  translations,  it  is  spirited  and  enter 
taining." —  Toledo  Blade. 

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THE 

OWL'S  NEST. 

BY  E.  MARLITT. 

TRANSLATED  BY  MRS.  A.  L.  WISTER. 


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"  The  best  story  which  Mrs.  Wister  has  translated  for  some 
years.  It  has  all  the  sentimental  qualities  dear  to  the  German 
heart  and  much  of  the  esprit  demanded  by  American  taste.  The 
moral  is  excellent,  inculcating  the  precept  that  girls  must  seem  as 
well  as  be  irreproachable  in  behavior." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 

"  The  book  is  as  sweet  and  wholesome  as  its  predecessors.  .  .  . 
The  descriptions  of  scenery  are  alone  enough  to  reward  one  for 
reading  the  book.  They  are  so  vivid  that  one  can  almost  smell 
the  pines  and  feel  the  blowing  wind." — Boston  Globe. 

"  This  story  has  the  minute  delicacy  and  graphic  simplicity  of 
all  of  Marlitt's  stories,  and  it  is  gracefully  translated." — New  York 
Independent. 

"  These  translations  are  gaining  a  place  among  the  standard 
literature  of  the  day.  Pure  in  thought,  not  extravagant  in  tone, 
they  portray  human  nature  as  we  each  day  see  it  around  us.  The 
pictures  of  German  life,  whether  among  peasantry  or  those  of  the 
high  degree,  are  both  pleasing  and  instructive,  and  the  moral  such 
as  will  be  an  influence  for  good." — Norristown  Plerald. 

"  It  has  the  same  elements  of  strength  and  interest,  the  same 
effective  blending  of  the  subjects  of  romance  with  the  methods  of 
realism,  that  we  find  in  all  the  novels  of  this  author  coming  through 
the  hands  of  this  translator." — American  Bookseller. 


For  sale  by  all  Booksellers,  or  will  be  sent, 
post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS, 

715  and  717  Market  Street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


CHOICE:  GZSRIVEAN  FICTION. 

MRS.  WISTERTfRANSLATIONS. 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  Mrs.  Wister's  literary  judgment  is  of  the 
highest  order,  and  that  she  possesses  an  unfailing  tact  for  selecting  only  such 
German  novels  as  are  well  adapted  to  please  the  American  taste.  This,  together 
with  the  rare  excellence  of  her  translations,  and  her  peculiar  power  of  infusing 
her  spirit  into  them,  imparting  to  every  story  she  undertakes  a  distinctive  indi 
viduality  and  charm,  renders  her  works  among  the  most  popular  of  the  day. 

THE  OWL'S  NEST $1   25 

PICKED  UP  IN  THE  STREETS 1   25 

THE  ALPINE  FAY 1   25 

SAINT  MICHAEL 1   25 

THE  LADY  WITH  THE  RUBIES 1   25 

A  PENNILESS  GIRL 125 

BANNED  AND  BLESSED 1    50 

FROM  HAND   TO   HAND 150 

THE  EICHHOFS 1   50 

CASTLE  HOHENWALD 1   50 

TOO  RICH 1    50 

THE  GREEN  GATE 1   50 

WHY  DID  HE  NOT  DIE? 1    50 

THE  BAILIFF'S  MAID 1   25 

AT  THE  COUNCILLOR'S 1   50 

THE  OLD   MAM'SELLE'S  SECRET 1   50 

COUNTESS  GISELA 1    50 

VIOLETTA 1   25 

VAIN  FOREBODINGS 1   25 

QUICKSANDS 1    50 

A  NOBLE  NAME 1   50 

SEVER  A 1   50 

A  NEW  RACE 1    25 

MARGARETHE 1    50 

A  FAMILY  FEUD 125 

ONLY  A  GIRL 1    50 

HULDA 1   50 

IN  THE  SCHILLINGSCOURT 1   50 

THE  SECOND  WIFE 1   50 

GOLD   ELSIE. 1   50 

THE  LITTLE  MOORLAND  PRINCESS 1   50 

Complete  sets  of  the  above  in  20  volumes,  bound  in  uniform  and  attrac 
tive  style,  can  be  had  for  $29.00 


***  For  sale  by  all  Booksellers,  or  will  be  sent,  post-paid, 
on  receipt  of  the  price,  by 

J.  B,  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,  Publishers, 

Nos,  715  and  717  Market  St.,  Philadelphia, 


MRS.  H.  LOYETT  GftMERON'S  NOVELS. 

i6mo.     Half  cloth,  50  cents.     Paper  cover,  25  cents. 

A  LIFE'S    MISTAKE. 

Mrs.  Cameron  is  a  vivacious,  entertaining,  and  pure  writer.  The 
plot  and  movement  of  her  stories  are  interesting,  and  they  are  all  de 
servedly  popular. 

WORTH    WINNING. 

"  A  story  that  is  well  calculated  to  hold  the  reader's  interest  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  style  is  good."— Savannah  News. 

"A  very  interesting  story  of  English  life,  the  characters  being  well 
sketched  and  the  plot  skilfully  developed."—  Washington  (D.C.)  Public 
Opinion. 

VERA   NEVILL; 

Or,  Poor  Wisdom's  Chance. 

"  There  is  unusual  force  in  this  novel.  The  character  of  the  heroine 
is  drawn  with  great  power,  while  the  incidents  fit  into  each  other  with 
rare  skill,  leading  up  to  the  denouement  with  an  artistic  fitness  not  often 
seen." — Petersons  Magazine. 

"  Is  intensely  dramatic.  The  style  throughout  is  bright  and  read 
able." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

PURE    GOLD. 

"  It  is  well  written,  and  the  book  throughout  is  thoroughly  interest 
ing." — Boston  Globe. 

"  It  is  an  interesting  story."— Baltimore  American. 

"A  good  old  English  story  of  the  present  day,  and  can  be  read  with 
profit." — St.  Louis  Republican. 

IN   A  GRASS   COUNTRY. 

A  Story  of  Love  and  Sport. 

"  Is  so  fresh  and  fascinating  that  one  cannot  easily  be  tempted  to  lay 
the  book  aside  without  having  read  it  from  cover  to  cover." — Boston 
Advertiser. 

"  Is  an  uncommonly  good  story  of  love  and  sport.  It  is,  first  of  all, 
entertaining.  There  is  not  a  dull  line  in  the  whole  story,  nor  a  para 
graph  to  be  skipped.  The  book  is  full  of  merriment." — New  York  Critic. 

**.*  For  sale  by  all  Booksellers,  or  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage  pre 
paid,"^  receipt  of  the  price  by  the  publishers. 


THE  JEWEL  IN  THE  LOTOS 


By   MARY    AGNES   TINCKER, 

Author  of  "Aurora,"  "Sigaor  Monaldini's  Niece,"  eta 


With    Five    Handsome    Illustrations    by  Thomas    and 
Helen    C.    Hovenden. 


I28MO.     Extra   cloth. 


"  There  is  not  a  dull  page  in  it.  Every  one  in  this  novel,  from  Glenlyon  to 
the  servants  in  the  kitchen,  has  his  separate  and  rounded  individuality.  It  is  full 
of  beautiful  pictures,  and  has  certain  passages  we  should  be  glad  to  quote,  but  we 
must  be  content  to  leave  these  to  the  reader  to  discover." — The  Literary  World. 

"  A  very  pleasant  novel  to  read,  and  one  that  once  begun  w  ill  be  finished  by 
the  reader.  It  is  peculiarly  fresh  and  breezy  and  out  of  doors." — St.  Louis 
Republican. 

"  There  are  charming  descriptions  of  Italian  scenery  in  this  novel,  excellent 
drawings  of  titled  and  peasant  folk,  some  good  character  sketches  of  English 
people,  and  satire  that  is  delicate  and  true.  But  the  most  interesting  part  is  the 
Catholicism." — New  York  Times. 

"Never  was  a  book  written  that  contained  more  charming  descriptive  pas 
sages.  Here  and  there  through  the  book  they  appear  like  pictures  illuminating 
the  story  and  happily  transporting  the  writer  to  the  Italian  country." — New 
Orleans  Picayune. 

"  The  story  is  an  intensely  interesting  one,  the  plot  is  strong,  the  characters 
natural,  and  the  style  clear,  graceful,  and  attractive.  It  is  a  work  which  will  be 
read  with  profit  as  well  as  pleasure  in  every  home." — Baltimore  Evening  News 

"  It  is  a  strong  novel,  full  of  human  nature  and  passion,  with  a  spice  of  the 
romantic  in  the  way  of  the  disputed  birth  of  the  heroine  and  a  band  of  mounted 
handits." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"A  novel  of  more  than  usual  interest." — Springfield  Republican. 

"An  Italian  tale  of  the  highest  order  of  literary  merit.  The  pictures  of  life  in 
the  land  of  bright  skies  and  dark  deeds  are  powerfully  drawn,  as  with  a  masculine 
hand,  while  the  emotions  are  played  upon  with  a  touch  delicately  feminine.  The 
language  is  as  fluent  as  the  discernment  is  keen,  and  the  reader  is  carried  along  by 
an  easy  progress  through  the  details  of  a  rather  sad  plot  as  smoothly  as  the  glide 
of  a  gondola  on  a  Venetian  canal,  constantly  enjoying  sensations  as  grateful  as  the 
balmy  air  that  soothes  the  feelings  in  the  land  of  history  and  of  romance.  It  is  a 
valuable  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  day." — Pittsburgh  Commercial-Gazette, 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


